


A Barely-In-The-Background Kind Of Guy

by theotheghostkid



Series: whimsical [1]
Category: Dear Evan Hansen - Pasek & Paul/Levenson
Genre: :P, Also FRIENDSHIPS GALORE!! YES PLEASE!!, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Am I projecting?? probably, Anxiety Attacks, Bad Eating Habits, Based on a Tumblr Post, But not quite, F/F, I think everyone is OOC in the beginning but i'll work on it, If it could be triggering i'll make sure to put warnings, Implied Eating Disorder??, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, LGBTQ Themes, M/M, Mental Health Issues, No one dies don't worry, OCs are minor characters and background characters, Panic Attacks, Sky High AU, Slow Burn probably?? how does one romance????, Suicide Attempts, Superpowers, and students, it might get angsty but who cares, jared needs love too guys, might reference other thing not sorry, more plot than sky high, probably takes on some bnha inspiration too, same evan, sophomore year
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-03
Updated: 2018-01-06
Packaged: 2018-11-22 13:42:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 42,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11381355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theotheghostkid/pseuds/theotheghostkid
Summary: In a world of whims, everyone has a chance to become a hero.Evan Hansen didn't want to go to Magnus High. He was perfectly fine with being on his own, at a normal high school, not one for superheroes. Not that he's got anything against superheros, per say. His grandfather was one, once upon a time! But he's not hero material at all! But Jared Kleinman can be convincing when it comes to things, and here he is, first day of sophomore year, the new kid, really wanting to toss himself out of the nearest tree.((inspired by the sky high au post I saw on tumblr, but things were changed, simply put.))((also if anyone has the link to it please g i v e it because this was inspired by it and i feel bad not linking the original one)





	1. used to feeling like I was never gonna see myself at the finish line

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First thing's first, Evan Hansen is not hero material. No matter what anyone says.
> 
> His mom says he is, that his whims are just as strong as his grandfather's, who was the hero Fern, who could control plants and level cities with his vines. But that was on his dad's side, and they didn't like to talk about it.

First thing's first, Evan Hansen is  _not_ hero material. No matter what anyone says.

His mom says he is, that his whims are just as strong as his grandfather's, who was the hero Fern, who could control plants and level cities with his vines. But that was on his dad's side, and they didn't like to talk about it.

But he knows he can't be hero material. He can't even bring himself to talk to the kids in his class, the kids he's known his whole life. He can't function normally, because of his anxiety and heroes can't have anxiety, right? 

Yet here he is, waiting for a bus to take him to Magnus High. The best high school in his part of the country for kids with superpowers. All because of his "best friend" Jared Klineman. 

Jared hadn't talked to Evan all freshman year, since he'd got accepted to Magnus High the moment eighth grade ended. It was his dream to be a professional hero, or a rock star, one of the two, and since his abilities were more geared towards heroism, he jumped his shot and got in. Evan was glad for him, but it also left him alone to start off high school. Evan kept to himself, and never got any response from Jared, so he took it as Jared made new friends and didn't need him anymore, and that he was on his way to becoming a hero.

And then the first day of summer vacation, Jared called him and told him to apply for Magnus High, cause apparently, they also accept a few kids each sophomore year. He'd been pressured to apply by Jared.

Now here he was, standing outside his house, waiting for a bus to take him to Magnus High for his first day, and desperately wanting to throw himself out of the nearest tree. It wouldn't kill him, but maybe it could get him out of the first few days of school? He wrung his hands around the straps of his backpack, running a mental checklist so that he didn't forget anything.

 _School supplies?_ He shifted his feet. His supplies in his bag moved with them. Check.  _Locked the door?_ His house key was still wrapped around his wrist. He should put it away soon. Check.  _Meds?_ It was the first and only thing he'd ingested today, except for some water. Check.  _That's everything, I guess._ He feels his heart skip a few beats, and twists his hands around his backpack straps again, trying to get some kind of decent breathing going, like his therapist suggests, but it's not working out too well and he kinda really wants to die. 

His mother was  _thrilled_ when she heard he'd been accepted into Magnus High. He'd be a hero like Fern, maybe, and save lives! Though his mother was focused on saving lives as well, as a nurse  _and_ someone who had the whim to heal. It was weak, unfortunately, and took a lot out of her, but she worked hard at being a nurse and studying at night classes at a local college and trying to keep her and Evan afloat after...

The bus _skkkrs_ to a stop before him, and the door opens. It's a bright yellow bus, but not labeled like other school buses. The bus driver looks down on him, fiddling with the baseball cap on her head. "Evan Hansen?" She asks, reading off a piece of paper.

"Y-Yes?" _No, that was a stupid response. It's obvious you're_ the  _Evan Hansen, you're the only kid who lives on the street except Miles Yggdrasil, but Miles doesn't go to Magnus High School and Miles doesn't have any whims._

"Well, come on, boy!" The bus driver greets him cheerfully. Too cheerfully. "Name's Anaïs Lynley. You can call me Miss Lynley, I'll be your bus driver for the year." She says as he gets on the bus.

He's the first one on, and he lets out a deep sigh of relief, and takes a window seat near the middle, nervously setting his bag next to him, hoping not a lot of kids ride the bus so that he won't have to move his bag. Is he hogging his seat? Possibly. He moves it to the floor, and immediately regrets it, because the floor is dirty and dusty and it leaves a seat open, and when he tries to pull it out, there's too much in it and it gets stuck, mid-way.

 _God, this is a mess._ He thinks to himself, pulling out earbuds and plugging them into his phone. He randomly shuffles it, not caring what he listens to, as he tries to pull his bag out of the crevice it fell into. Miss Lynley seems disappointed that Evan sits to himself, from what Evan sees out of the corner of his eyes as she glances back in the rearview mirror, but it's not like he doesn't want to initiate friendly conversation. Maybe in an alternate universe he  _can_ do that, and he doesn't have stupid plant whims that make flowers and leaves grow in his hair.

He pulls a few twigs out of his hair and shoves them into his pocket. He should've brough his hair brush, but it would have looked weird to bring a hair brush to school. Girls did it, but people might give him weird looks if he did it, and it was easier to pull the leaves and twigs and flowers out of his hair than brush them out. At least, with twigs, they cae out easier. Flowers were more of a hassle.

He watches a few more kids get on. One of them looks just as nervous as he, and already has headphones on as he gets on and jumps for one of the back seats. They were always fought over at Evan's old school, so he never got to sit back there. A couple of kids got on at the next stop, one of the girls giving Evan a friendly smile before sitting closer to the back with her friends. The small smile made Evan's heart skip a beat. Maybe Jared wouldn't be his  _only_ friend this year?

He spoke too soon, as two boys who had gotten on took a seat behind and across from Evan. Both of them were gruff and macho and way bigger than Evan, though he's 5'7" and not done growing yet. One of them knocks his bag out of the seat and back into the crevice that took all of his strength to get it out of, and the other taps his shoulders, motioning to take the earbuds out. And he's shaking like a leaf already, great.

"Oi, are you one of the new kids?" The one boy, who had a baseball cap on (backwards, and Evan might add it looked terrible), says, pointing at Evan.

Evan manages out a nod, trying to pull his bag up. 

"W' don't g't fr'sh sophomor' m'at oft'n." The other boy spoke as if the letter "e" didn't exist in his English language. "How 'bout it, Jakob?"

"Dunno, Brett." Jakob, sitting across from Evan, grins, and holds his hands up. His finger tips light fire. "Wonder what kind of classes he's signed up for..."

"Boys!" Miss Lynley stops the bus at a stop sign, but she's looking in her rearview mirror. "Brett, Jakob, come sit up here."

"What if we don't want to?"

Miss Lynley lowers her glare. "Don't make me come back there and get you." Her voice seems suddenly hypnotic. "Now get up here, Brett, Jakob."

"Fine." Brett and Jakob gather their bags and move to the front. 

Evan thanked Miss Lynley mentally for that, and he put his earbuds back in and inched closer to the window, wishing desperately that he could turn invisible instead of grow plants in his hair. 

* * *

 "Evan Hansen!" Jared is waiting outside on the school's steps for him. "It is good to see you, man." He wraps an arm around Evan's shoulders, but barely. Jared's shorter than him, and can barely reach.

"Y-Y-you could've r-replied to my...my texts..." Evan replies, trying his best to be mad. But despite it, he couldn't be mad at Jared, even if he left him alone all freshman year. 

"Yeah..." Jared lets out a nervous laugh. He looks slightly ashamed, which is a new look for Jared. It quickly fades, however. "We're still family friends, right?"

"Ye-yeah." If it was some kind of joke, it went over Evan's head. (He was still mad at Jared, but Jared was the only person he knew at this stupid school, so he had no choice in who to talk to.) Ignoring Jared's lack of an apology (it was probably implied), Evan asked the question that was on his mind all summer. "Why did you- You made me apply here? Why?" Curse Evan's terrible grip on the English language. Coherent thoughts, incoherent words. 

"Be _cause_ , you're strong, Evan. Your whim is fucking _awesome_ , man."

"I grow- I can grow plants." He pulls a few leaves out of his hair, showing them to Jared as an example before shoving them into his pocket. They're mint leaves and they smell nice. "N-not impressive."

"Compared to half of the kids at this school, very impressive." Jared fixes his glasses. "Someone here got in that could control orange juice, Evan. Orange juice."

"O-oh. I-I mean, it could be? Could be cool?" 

"Not really. He was my partner in history a lot, and all he did was drink orange juice. He's gone now, I think." Jared shrugs. "Anyway, you're going to love it here. The Heroics program is one of the best in the country!"

"I-isn't there a t-test for that, though?" Jared's response, a nod, makes Evan's stomach flip on itself. At least there was no threat of puking, since he hadn't had anything to eat all day.

"Yeah, middle of sophomore year. It's a written and physical exam." Jared shrugs. "We'll both make it, I know it." Jared begins to lead Evan into the school, and tugs at his sleeve, pointing out some the basic facilities. The gym, where they go for basic whim training. It's enforced with steel and metals that prevent explosions from causing too much damage. There's separate training rooms, down a hall behind the gym, that are for smaller one-on-one training (and mentor training,  which is something you get when you finish the "class exam", in the middle of your sophomore year). The cafeteria is on the second floor, and has atrium in the middle and a garden where a lot of people tend to eat lunch, though some people prefer eating at tables and not at benches like some heathens.

By the time the first warning bell rings, Evan knows where basic things are, and what halls are what. Jared quickly pulls out his schedule, comparing it to the one Evan had dug out, too. They didn't share their first period class together, but they had the same Whim Training, lunch period, and Whim History together, so that was something.

"Good luck, Evan!" Jared gives him a thumbs-up before running to his first class. 

Evan nodded and took a deep breath, and began to head to his first class, too. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sooo sorry if anyone is ooc first time i've ever written any of these characters.
> 
> also, am I projecting a bit with evan?? possibly. has the bus situation happened before??.....possibly
> 
> (not the bullies, just the bag problems).


	2. I keep saying that I'm looking for an empty space

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evan's first class is a mess, but this Alana girl is pretty nice to him, at least. And at lunch, Evan meets someone, but doesn't get his name. Thanks, anxiety.

"Riley Baker?" The English teacher, a stout man in a suit named Mr. Brown says. Ironically, he's brown.  _No, that's kinda racist?_ Evan thinks, fiddling with the eraser on his pencil.  _I mean, it's not? He's literally brown, like, Indian, possibly? This is bad. Hopefully no one can hear this._ He'd heard rumors from his fellow classmates that a telepathic whim could be in the room.

"Here!' A voice calls out from the back.

"Alana Beck?"

"Here!" Another girl says, raising her hand. She's got her braided hair pulled back and round glasses pushed up to the bridge of her nose. She's got a bright smile on her face that Evan envies. Why can't he be confident like that, too? She sits right next to him, and she gives him a big smile, too, when she looks at Evan. 

By the time his name is called out, all he can say is a small, muffled, "Here."

"Jeremiah Heere?"

"Present!"

Mr. Brown goes through the roll quickly, and in the blink of an eye, he's at the front of the classroom, holding a whiteboard marker and ready to begin. "Welcome to English Literature II, students. I recognize a few faces from last year, and some I don't." Evan's pretty sure he gets a direct look from Mr. Brown, and he resists the urge to sink back into his seat. "We're going to do a small icebreaker activity to get to know everyone better."

Evan resists the urge to run out of the classroom.  _Really? I mean, it's nice that you want to know everyone, Mr. Brown, but some people can't talk to people easily. Like me. Yeah, I suck at talking to people. This sucks. Why did Jared make me go here? How much would it take to get kicked out? No, I can't get kicked out. Imagine what that could say on college applications. Oh, Evan Hansen got kicked out of Magnus High? No thanks!_

As Mr. Brown explains the icebreaker-- two truths and a lie, a game everyone's sure to have played before-- an Evan's thoughts are going a mile a second, Alana Beck nudges him.

"You okay?" She whispers, looking at him with concerned brown eyes.

"Mmhmm." Evan bites his bottom lip and nods. He's not good enough to string a few words together.

"If you say so. But." Alana glances at Mr. Brown, who's writing an example of two truths, and a lie, on the board. "Your thoughts are going crazy over there. You sure you're okay?"

 _Oh._ It's the girl with the mind-reading whim. His thoughts stop immediately in his head. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't know--" He whispers, looking down at his hands in slight shame. What if he'd been hurting her, or too loud?

"You're fine." Alana says. "I'd turn it off if I could, but I can't. I usually tune everything out, but you're thoughts are barely comprehensible."

"S-sorry." Or was it better that she couldn't understand his thoughts? So she couldn't dig in deeper and not reveal some big secrets about him, like how he thought he was a burden and that he wasn't meant to be a hero and that he wanted to die a bit each night? 

"Don't apologize." She turns back at the board, just as Mr. Brown asks everyone which is the lie he wrote on the board. She raises her hand. "Mr. Brown, you've never been boating before."

Her answer causes the class to break out into laughter, and Mr. Brown sends a harmless glare her way. "Ah, Ms. Beck, you're right. Probably not too hard to figure out, since you're you..."

"You used the same thing last year, too." Alana responds. More laughter, and Mr. Brown flushes a bit.

"Guilty as charged. Now, everyone, pull out a piece of paper or a notecard and do the same." He instructs. "I'll give you... five minutes to write some down?"

"Ten minutes!" Someone yells about.

"Fifteen!"

"Eight!"

"Why eight?"

"Cause eight is my--"

"Alright, ten minutes then. Get working." Mr. Brown says, and he's back at his desk, where he was calling out roll moments before, looking through stacks of paper and organizing some. 

Alana turns back to Evan, already having three written out on a notecard. She was definitely an interesting girl, Evan notes, as he pulls out a piece of paper. He doesn't know what to write for some of his. He's not very interesting, is he? His mom is a single mom, his dad left when he was seven (he wouldn't like to talk about it), he can control plants, blah blah blah... His whim is probably the only interesting thing, as the twigs and leaves and flowers constantly growing around him begins to attract attention, eventually. He manages to write something down.

His grandfather was Fern, the superhero, back in the 50s, when professional heroism was still on the rise. One of the first heroes in the industry, that helped make heroism a profession and an actual job for some people. 

His ten minutes is up by the time he writes down his other truth. He feels immediate dread as soon as Mr. Brown calls time, and gets ready to begin calling on people. 

Alana is first. She introduces herself, her whim, and then tells her three things. "My name is Alana Beck. My whim is telepathy and telekinesis. My three things are, I've never been out of the country. My parents are both superheroes. I hate cheese."

It turns out that Alana Beck hates cheese.

A few more kids go up. Dante Quintana can control probability, and he hates shoes. Brielle Lovett has a brother who's a pro hero, and she can make boiling tea come out of her finger tips. 

And then Evan is called. He stands up, shaking and cursing at Mr. Brown for making him do a stupid activity. He only has two things written down, too. But he can't run out of class on his first day, can he? He opens his mouth to speak, and immediately feels everyone's eyes upon him, unblinking and just watching him open his mouth like a fish trying to eat.

Before he can excuse himself and leave and get away and have a panic attack in the closest bathroom, Alana Beck stands up. She doesn't even have to look at the cards or anything, she knows everything he wants to say. "This is Evan Hansen. He has a plant-related whim. His three things are, his grandfather was the superhero Fern, he's Jewish and he's never read Harry Potter."

A few kids guess that he's not Jewish, or that he's not actually  _related_ to Fern. Eventually someone gets the lie right (something Alana completely made up) and they can sit back down. He hates that he took a seat in the middle of the class, but people were paying more attention to everyone else than him.

"Thank you, Evan, Alana." Mr. Brown says, slightly disapprovingly. He calls on the next person.

 _Thank you_ , he thinks, hoping Alana hears.

* * *

 He feels sick by lunch time. His anxiety is a churning storm in his body, and his stomach is being affected the worst. He kept pulling out Begonia blossoms sprouting from his hair. A distant memory of seeing somewhere that begonias can symbolize bad thoughts makes everything worse, and he feels like people are watching the weird boy with flowers growing out of his hair hide in the corner of the cafeteria. 

The atrium is nice, though. There are multiple kinds of trees in the middle, and bushes of many different kinds of flowers. Older kids, what look like seniors and juniors (and Jared, too, he spots from the corner of his eye. Jared doesn't acknowledge him) sit under the trees on benches and on the ground, laughing and having fun.

He pushes away the sandwich his mom packed for his lunch. A sophomore in high school, and his mom still packs his lunch? No one could possibly know that (except Alana, but she wasn't around at all). Plus, he wasn't hungry. And if he was, people would judge him for the way he was eating. What if he ate too fast? What if he ended up choking on a bit of crust and coughing, definitely getting a lot of people's attention? 

He's alone, but this is fine.  _Perfectly_ fine. He was alone all freshman year, this is nothing different. Except these kids aren't the kids that went to his school since he was in kindergarten. Some of them were from other towns or cities over, a few of them from the next  _state_ over. Sure, there were some familiar faces, like Jared, and one of the kids in his English class used to go to his middle school before she had to move, but other than that, all of the faces were foreign and new. He really wants to puke, but nothing would come out, except maybe a few pretzels he'd poked at in his lunch.

He tosses what remains of his lunch (except the pretzel bag, in case he gets hungry during the day) and takes his seat in the corner again. In all honesty, he somewhat feels like the dog in that one  _This is fine_ comic, the one where there's fire all around him and he's just sitting there, calmly as if nothing is happening. The rest of the comic gets gruesome, the dog's face melting off, but that's how Evan feels. 

He looks again at his schedule, making sure he knows where he's going for his next class.  _Whim Training,_ which was after his lunch class. A whole class dedicated to the physical training of a person's body and Whim. Jared described it as  _middle school gym class on steroids_ , and while Evan was fine with just normal gym class, this was a lot worse. Whims. He shivers at the thought of people watching him with his whim. It was weird enough as it was, wasn't it? 

It's early, and he wants to leave and go to class, but there's still twenty minutes left in his lunch period. Twenty minutes of pure agony, Evan supposes. He could pull out his earbuds again, but his mom expected him to at least  _try_ and make friends, and having his earbuds in would give off a "hey, leave me alone" vibe off of him. But he doesn't care that much, and just as he pulls out his earbuds, a voice snaps his head up.

"Hey." It's a kid. A kid that Evan definitely doesn't recognize. He's holding a lunch tray, but looks utterly disgusted with it. "Can I sit here?" His hair is long, messy, reaching past his chin, and he keeps a black jacket zipped up tight. 

"U-uh, yeah." Evan stutters out. "I m-mean, no one's sitting there. Sorry. No, I mean, um, no one was going to sit with me anyway." He looks away, feeling his cheeks flush slightly out of embarrassment. "Sorry."

"I can just sit somewhere else--"

"No, you're fine!" Evan says, maybe a little too loud. "Sorry."

"You apologize too much." The boy says, taking his seat. 

 _Sorry._ Hopefully this boy didn't have a mind reading whim, like Alana did. Thankfully, it appeared like no response. They sit in silence, the other boy scrolling through something on his phone, poking at the salad he got with his lunch with his fork, before he looks up and locks eyes with Evan. Evan wasn't staring at  _him_ in particular, it was just possible that all of his panic being internalized made him...stare off into space...for a while...

"You've got, uh, leaves in your hair." The boy says after he takes a bite of his salad. 

Evan's hands immediately reach up to his hair. Surely enough, there are leaves growing out. And a couple of blossoms. He yelps, ripping them out immediately. There's a bit of sting in it, like usual, but it's embarrassing, and oh god, the boy is staring--

"Careful." The boy says. "Those look really stuck in there. You okay?"

"U-uh, yeah! They're...My whim causes it. E-especially when I'm-I'm nervous." Evan says. "Not a-a lot of people realize it, they just think I constantly have leaves in my hair like I never take a shower, but I do and...I'm rambling, sorry."

"It's fine." The boy says, abandoning his lunch. The best hero school in their area had terrible meals, from what Evan could tell. "Must be a pretty cool whim, huh?"

"I-I-I mean, it's not  _that_ cool. Yours is probably cooler." Evan tenses. "Sorry. I mean, uh, I don't know your whim? Y-you don't have to tell me. But mine's n-not that. That cool. Sorry."

Evan's never been thankful for the bell, and he kind of... runs off the moment he could. He curses at himself as he finds himself surrounded by strangers in the hall again, and finally puts in the earbuds he was holding.

He never even got that kid's name. 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> eyyyo my leggoos
> 
>  
> 
> i'm conflicted bc I wanna be ///that author/// that shamelessly puts themself into the story but as, like, a background character...you know?
> 
> i should be working on my latin class.
> 
> i'm always on tumblr [@theotheghostkid](theotheghostkid.tumblr.com)!
> 
> \-- theo


	3. Never be enough, I'm the prodigal son

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evan's put into his team for gym class, and it does not go good.

"Evan Hansen!" Jared greets him as he walks into the gym.

(He's wearing a spare t-shirt and shorts that he packed in his bag for gym class, and he avoided changing in the boy's locker room. What if they looked at him weird? Too many  _What-Ifs_ went through his head that Evan ended up changing in a bathroom stall from across the gym hall.)

Jared grabs him in a one-armed hug. "You ready to show people what you're made of?"

"N-No, not r-really..." Evan mumbles, stumbling a bit from Jared's sudden weight on his side. "C-can you get off me, now?"

Jared nods, releasing Evan from the death-grip of a single arm hug. "How's your first day been?"

"E-eventful." Even lets out a bit of a laugh. "I, um, met s-some people."

"Evan Hansen, meeting people?" Jared lets out a fake, and overly dramatic, gasp. "What has this come to? Is the world finally ending?" In response, Evan jabs him with his elbow. 

"S-shut up."  _I know I suck at meeting people and it's hard for me to talk to people, no need to rub it in, asshole._

The coach comes in a few moments later, introducing himself as Coach Strong. He doesn't go into detail about himself, just about the class and how everything will work. For sophomore year, the students will be split into groups of three-to-four to work on team building skills, along with basic skills with their abilities. Jared lets out a comment that this isn't like last year (even for the sophomores last year) and Coach Strong responds that the curriculum had to be changed after, ah, _complications_ at a different school in the previous year. Plus, why not focus on training with teams anyway? It was inevitable that, if all the students went off to become professionals, they would  _have_ to, at some point, work with other people.

"Line up in the back with your group when I call your names," says Coach Strong, pulling out a clipboard. "okay?"

They weren't allowed to pick their groups, either. Unfortunately. Evan gulped, grabbing at the bottom of his shirt and holding tight. It might've looked awkward, but Evan knew they were much more focused on the flowers blooming from his hair.

"Evan Hansen," his name jolts him out of his thoughts, as Coach Strong reads off the names in his group. "Theo Benson, Alana Beck, and Connor Murphy."

He glances around the room. Sure enough, Alana Beck, from his first-period class, has already locked eyes with him. The other two Evan didn't recognize the names. As they stand up, Evan's able to look at who is in his group.

 _Oh god._ It's him. The boy who sat with him at lunch. The gym clothes he's wearing-- with Magnus High plastered all over them-- makes him look dramatically lankier than what Evan had noticed before. Evan feels his stomach immediately pitfall as he stands. He's shaking, he knows, and he looks down as he walks to the back of the gym, against the folded-up bleachers, and meets his team for the rest of the year.

 _"_ How amazing!" Alana greets the three other people in her group with a smile, that quells a bit of Evan's anxiety. Just a bit. "It seems we're going to be together for the rest of the year! I'm Alana." She was the only girl in the group, but it still felt right to introduce herself. "My whim allows me to read minds-- only if I concentrate, though-- and I can move things with my mind."

One of the others, a short, tan boy with shaggy brown hair and deep blue eyes grins, too. "If we're going through introductions, then I'm Theo! And my whim allows my body to heal wounds, really fast." Now that he's standing next to Evan, he can definitely see the scars that line his arms. A lot of scars, one of them large and scraping his entire arm. One could only wonder what happened.

"I'm Connor." Lunch-Boy says. Evan feels glad he's finally able to put a name to a face. He disappears from sight for a moment, then comes back. "I can turn invisible. And go through things."

Everyone's staring at Evan now. He feels small surrounded by everyone else (though, Theo is definitely shorter than him, the boy looked like he was barely reaching five feet tall), and he manages to get out, "I-I'm Evan." As if it wasn't obvious. "A-and I- my whim- allows me to control plants." 

"That's cool!" Theo grins. "We've got a wide array of whims with us, then."

"This will definitely be an interesting year!" Alana says gleefully. "I look forward to working with all of you."

Evan is quiet through all of this, nervously playing with a vine that had grown around his arm during the whole ordeal. He wound it around his finger, listening to his group (just Theo and Alana) talk to each other and get to know each other better.

"After class, let's exchange numbers." Theo suggests. They can't do it right at the moment, because Coach Strong is about to start their first activity, and their phones should be in their locker rooms. Theo's idea makes sense, and Evan gulps at the thought of having three more people being able to text him. What if he messes up somehow? His anxiety makes his stomach do a somersault, and he's glad he didn't eat much lunch or else he'd puke right now.

Coach Strong gathers all the students back near the front of the gym after they all had a moment to meet their teammates, that they'd be assigned with for the rest of the year. "Alright, listen up!" He says in a loud, powerful voice. "I'm supposed to be training all forty of your class, and forty in another class, for the damn placement test at the end of this semester." The students flinch a bit at his vulgarity, and Evan found himself among those students. He knew that high school teachers were more crass than teachers in middle school, but he wasn't expecting this. "And this training isn't going to be no walk in the park, either. You're training to be professional heroes, you're training to save people and fight villains, it's not going to be that easy. So neither is this. Are we clear?"

A few students murmur in response.

Coach Strong sighs. "Are we clear?" He repeats again, a little louder. Evan flinches.

"Yes, sir!" 

"Get out to the field, I expect you out there in two minutes." Coach Strong says, already leaving.

* * *

 

They started out with minor exercises. According to Coach Strong, that was. His "minor" exercises were ten sets of forty push-ups, lunges, a few things Evan didn't recognize (what the _heck_ is a burpee?) and a mile jog. In under thirty minutes. Evan was breathless and shaking by the time Coach Strong gathered them on the football field (which, apparently only existed because of the aesthetic, according to the coach) for a different kind of training.

"Now, I realize this is your first day back from summer vacation. For some of you, you were here last year. A few of you are newbies..." Evan feels the coach's strong glare fall upon him, and he looks away nervously, avoiding eye contact. "...But that doesn't matter. You've been told to not use your whims your whole life, and now you're going to put them to proper use, alright?" 

The class nods, most of them out of it from the sudden exercise montage they were just put through. 

"You're going to split up into your teams." Coach Strong begins, sending a shudder down Evan's spine. Not that he didn't like his team mates. They were pretty cool, in fact. But he was nervous around them. "In the past, you may have done physical tests in your gym classes to see how fast you are, how strong you are, but you were never allowed to use your whims. As upcoming heroes, you're going to need to rely on those whims of yours to get through. Use your whims to get through these next tests I will place before you and your small group." Again it looks like Coach Strong eyes Evan in particular, but in reality, it's probably a brief moment as the man's eyes flicker across the crowd of students. "Or not, and fail the class."

 _Fail?_ Evan's thoughts ring out.  _You can't use your whim you're too scared and you're gonna fail and that's going to be completely pathetic but you're not meant to be a hero--_

"Evan?" Alana's at his side again, probably could hear his thoughts a mile away. "We're this way, come on." He only nods mutely in response, following Alana closely. Not too close, though, he doesn't want to be breathing down her back or anything, or accidentally step on her heels and cause her foot to slide out of her shoe, but close. Connor and Theo are already waiting for them.

Theo's complaining to a rather uninterested Connor. "Come on,  _physical_ tests? My whim doesn't enhance anything except my healing! What the heck!"

"We're all pretty much in the same fucking boat." Connor shrugs, pushing back some of his long hair. It's strange to see such long hair on a boy, Evan notices. Theo's is as long as he'd expect-- shaggy, long in the back and didn't look brushed-- but Connor's was to his shoulders and thin. "The only people who probably have advantages are Alana and Evan."

"N-not really..." Evan says, quietly. The vine from before is still twirled around his arm, something he can fidget with to calm his anxiety. "I can- it's n-not  _that_ strong, and even if it was, I probably wouldn't b-be able to use it without getting sick, or s-something."

"Currently, for me, my telekinetic abilities aren't that strong, either." Alana adds, watching as different kind of tests are spread throughout the football field. It's set up as stations, and Coach Strong informs-- from across the field, with a loud voice that almost seemed too powerful-- that the teams will cycle through them once. And that would be the end of the class, hopefully. The one that Evan is currently standing at, or is, at least, closest to with no one else going for it, with his group, is some kind of disc.

"I know what this is!" Theo grabs it by the handle, showing it off to the group. "It's a dynamometer- it's supposed to measure, like, how strong we are or something." With it, a laminated paper, a chart, reads out numbers and different levels. Above a 141 is, apparently, super, while below an 88 is terrible. Theo goes first, gripping it as hard as he can.

He can't get past 62.

"Dang," Theo says, passing it off to Alana.

She gets a 90, and Evan notices a faint purple glow around her hand and the machine. It's her whim, the telekinesis that she also claimed to have. Meeting someone else with a dual whim like that was strange. Evan always felt like the odd one out (since he could both heal and control plants, however, he doesn't like to do the healing much), but there were three people in his group that had a dual-whim. Evan, Alana, and Connor, and at least he didn't feel so strange about it.

Connor gets a 22. He doesn't even try.

Evan brushes off his sweaty hands on his gym shorts before taking it from Connor. It's heavier than it looked, that's definitely for sure. He grips it, shaking, but can't bring himself to make it any tighter, when an idea comes to him. It's a stupid idea, to him. But he winds the vine he'd been fiddling with all class around the handle of the dynamometer, and squeezes.

It's the second-highest at a 80. It was close to being, as the chart read, "below average". The vine retreats back to his forearm immediately as the score is recorded and they're cycling to the next one.

The different tests all measure different attributes. It's reminiscent of one of the fitness tests Evan remembers taking in middle school, but without having the loud booming voice yell out,  _Welcome to the FitnessGram™ Pacer Test_ , or  _UP DOWN ONE, UP DOWN TWO, UP DOWN THREE_... He's more interested in how his group members do than how he does himself, because he knows he sucks and that it's going to be terrible.

At one point there's a distance sprint, and they're told to go in pairs of two. Theo immediately challenges Connor to a race. Theo immediately loses to Connor and his long legs in the sprint, but they both have good times. Alana beats Evan in the race by a few seconds, and gets thirteen seconds. He's shaking a lot, and his breathing is laboured, not from the physical exhaustion but from his anxiety chewing at him constantly.

"If you want to sit out the next one, I'll write down random numbers for you." Connor suggests as they move on to the next station.

"N-No, I c-can do it. Sorry." Evan stutters. "I-I'm not t-tired o-or anything." He steels himself for a moment, taking a second so that he won't stutter when he speaks. He tries to speak with conviction, with confidence, like his therapist suggests. What he wanted, "I can do it," in a calm and collected voice. What he got, "Icandoit" in a not-calm and collected voice.

_Damn it you can't even speak properly. Useless._

He pushes those thoughts away to focus on the next test.

* * *

 

 _"And this girl-- I swear to fucking god, she's just terrible!"_ Jared's ranting about one of his team mates over the phone with Evan.

Evan usually hates phone calls, but all Jared does when he calls is talk. He doesn't wait for Evan's response. He doesn't  _expect_ Evan to respond, which is nice, for once. Evan's sitting on his bed, trying to look over his  _Whim History_ homework.

It's a new subject. They were taught the basics of it-- when Whims first came around in the 1920s, with an age of new people. These new people didn't actually begin to merge into society until about the 40s, when heroes began popping out of every corner. The war had made it acceptable for people to be heroic, and people never questioned soldiers surviving things that they shouldn't, doing things that technically shouldn't be possible, and saving people in the ways that they should. The 40s was the golden age of heroes, the same golden age that Fern came from, where Evan's power to control plants came from, and much more. 

 _"She's a stuck-up bitch, Evan._ " Jared's voice echoes through Evan's small room, on speaker because Evan can't be bothered to hold his phone up to his ear while he's trying to cram all the things he learned from just  _one class_ into his head before the quiz the day after the next. _"Like, I understand if you think you're stronger than everyone else just because your whim is stronger. You can create mini supernovas in your hands, I get it, girl. But all she did was treat the_ rest of us  _like dirt beneath her! Ugh, I hate people sometimes."_

"Same," Evan mumbles, turning the page of his thick history textbook. 

 _"She_ blinded  _me during one of those stupid fitness tests. The sprint thing, you know?_ " Evan nods, though he knows Jared can't see him.  _"Just blinds me because we're sprinting against each other-- it wasn't even a competition."_

Evan thinks back on Theo's attempt to challenge Connor, and a small laugh gets out of him.

 _"What are you laughing about over there?"_ Jared asks.

"N-nothing! Just, um... one of my group members challenged another to the sprint and they lost terribly. It was kind of funny to watch it, because the one was barely five feet tall and the other was almost six feet." Family friends learn each other's quirks and how to go around them. Fortunately, that made Jared a very good listener...to Evan's quick speaking, that is.

 _"Oh yeah, your group."_ There's a snicker from the other end.  _"Kinda got the rough end of it all. Maybe not Alana that much, she's pretty smart. But Connor Murphy, the psychopath, and that weirdo, Neo Berkley?"_

"H-His name's T-Theo." Evan says. "A-and they're not  _that_ b-bad. T-Theo's really out there and Connor's k-kind of...why did you call him a psychopath."

 _"Do you not remember?"_ Evan's silence causes Jared frustration, and there's a sigh on the other end.  _"Second grade, Connor Murphy went to our elementary school for a few months. He threw a printer at a teacher. Got suspended and put into another school. Ring any bells? And I was lab partners with Theo last year, and let me tell you, that dude is_  creepy as hell. _Nothing fazes him._ _"_ Jared goes on about how creepy Theo was, or how crazy Connor was, but Evan wasn't paying attention.

A printer? In second grade? Connor Murphy was a stick, but he got the lowest in all of his strength tests. At least, mostly because he didn't try, but what kind of second grader can throw a printer? There most definitely had to be a reason for that, Evan ponders, but it's cut off with Jared saying goodbye-- _"Mom's home with dinner. See ya tomorrow, tree boy."_

"B-bye...?" Evan winces as Jared hangs up. 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> QUICK NOTE ABOUT THE SCHOOL EVERYONE'S AT:
> 
> magnus high tends to accept 65% of all applicants freshman/sophomore year. however, the exam mid-sophomore year is what decides if the student is going to stay in the heroics department or move on towards general studies (which is an entirely different campus itself, but it has gotten a few popular heroes in its time).
> 
> evan's anxiety thoughts are long never ending sentences because that's how mine are in real life (projecting? a bit.....yes I am,, guilty as charged,,,,)
> 
> theo is me, yes. only because i didn't wanna have almost all the crew in a team, because what are the chances?? slim,,, my whim lets me heal myself of any wound (think the cheerleader from the Heroes tv show). it unfortunately also slows down my body's growth rate, so i'm a short pre-pubescent sophomore boy. at that rate i'd actually start normal puberty at about 25. 
> 
> ((fun fact: coach strong is a retired pro-hero.....he was known as prodigy........might come up later in the story ;D))


	4. Falling for forever, wonderfully wandering alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evan's woken up at three in the morning by his phone beeping loudly.
> 
> [THEO]: _sent an attatchment_  
>  [THEO]: hey guys look @ this meme
> 
> Or- Evan tries to have a normal day at school, and people keep talking to him.  
> (((in other news I got [adorable ](https://kanadia413.tumblr.com/post/162833130004/wip-of-a-flower-boi-evan-im-doing-based-on)[fanart](https://chickodee.tumblr.com/post/162788453820/a-quick-sketch-bc-i-love-theotheghostkids-fanfic) over on lovely tumblr go check it out please)))

Evan's woken up at three in the morning by his phone beeping loudly.

> **[THEO]:** _sent an attachment to Our Team_  
>  **[THEO]:** hey guys look @ this[ meme](http://cdn.sportige.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Cowboys-Taco-Trump-1024x920.jpg)

It's in the group chat that Alana made right after their class the day before, and there's only been brief talk in it. Evan exchanged some notes with Connor, Theo mentioned something about clubs, Alana said that they should try and sit together at lunch the next day. 

The meme is atrocious, by the way.

> **[CONNOR]:** two things  
>  **[CONNOR]:** one....why are you up so early.  
>  **[CONNOR]:** two.... why.
> 
> **[THEO]:** I can answer both of those!!  
>  **[THEO]:** well kinda  
>  **[THEO]:** my mom goes to work at three in the morning and leaves the dog with me so he wakes me up. not fun. and also. memes are g8
> 
> **[CONNOR]:** not saying they aren't but   
>  **[CONNOR]:** go back to fucking bed
> 
> **[THEO]:** can't. don't wannaaa
> 
> **[CONNOR]:** fuk you i'm going back to bed

The beeps stop. Evan's kind of laughing about the meme that was sent, despite how atrocious it was, but now he can't go back to sleep. He sighs and curls up tighter in his bed. His mom came home about an hour ago (taking night college courses, working the late shift and more isn't good for her, but she has to pay for everything somehow) and probably noticed that Evan hadn't ordered any kind of dinner that night. If she doesn't have to leave early that morning, she might yell at him a bit. But he wasn't hungry at the time, and he definitely wasn't going to have to talk to someone at the door.

His stomach growls at an inappropriate time. He wonders if there's anything small to eat in the kitchen, maybe an apple or something. He cautiously presses his feet into the creaky floorboards of their small home. He takes it a few steps at a time. A few steps down the hall, a pause, a few steps through the living room (not that hard, since everything is carpet, and only a few more to the kitchen before he opens the fridge.

There's a carton of milk (a day past its expiration date, he probably should go to the grocery store and get some milk and eggs), a bag of carrots, half-empty bottle of ketchup, meats for sandwiches, a bit of jelly left in a jar, and their bread. Shrugging, he picks out the jelly and digs for the peanut butter quietly before making a sandwich, wrapping it back up in a paper towel and heading back to his room. The jelly is grape flavored (his mom's favourite, Evan can't bring it to tell his mom that he doesn't like it that much) but he eats it anyway, the hunger in his stomach is gnawing too much.

His phone goes off again.

> **[THEO]:** does it mess anyone else up that fridge has a 'd' but refrigerator doesn't and theyre the same thing  
>  **[THEO]:** also my dog is hogging my bed so i can't go back asleep
> 
> **[CONNOR]:** what kind of dog do you have

Seeing Connor actually interested in something in the group chat was a surprise. Evan pegged him off as someone like himself-- only contributing when necessary. 

> **[THEO]:** well the one hogging my bed is a chihuahua. he's kicked me and my cat out of it rn.
> 
> **[CONNOR]:** a chihuahua are you fucking serious
> 
> **[THEO]:** look poe is a force to be reckoned with
> 
> **[CONNOR]:** is that a star wars reference
> 
> **[THEO]:** no and poe's his nickname. he's, like, five my dude... his full name is edgar allan poe.  
>  **[THEO]:** after the cat i've been banned from naming anything else in my life. 
> 
> **[CONNOR]:** wtf  
>  **[CONNOR]:** whats the cats name
> 
> **[THEO]:** hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
> 
> **[CONNOR]:** youve dug yourself thsi hole, better fckin say it
> 
> **[THEO]:** leif  
>  **[THEO]:** as in leif erikson  
>  **[THEO]:** as in leif erikson the viking who discovered america before columbus  
>  **[THEO]:** oh my dog moved hahaha night everyone
> 
> **[CONNOR]:** you little piece of shit its almost four in the fcking mornign

Evan can't help but chuckle a bit at the exchange. His phone doesn't show he's online, but he's scrolling through the messages, kind of astounded by the two of them. Connor was a pretty scary force to be reckoned with, but Theo was showing absolutely no fear. Theo was pretty fearless. Is that why Jared called him so weird, because he was fearless? He's finished his sandwich and he tosses the paper towel away in the small trash bin in his room before he curls back under his thin sheets and prays that sleep could come soon and easy.

It doesn't. He falls asleep at about four-thirty, and has to get up at six to make it to the bus stop early enough. 

* * *

"Motherfucker!" School fights at Magnus High were, apparently common. Of course, having high schoolers with very strong whims in one place for too long could cause a lot of tensions to rise. 

Evan took a few steps back, startled at the two upperclassman who began to fight in the lunch line. He'd just needed a water bottle, and he was already sweating in line just thinking about talking to the old lady at the end of the line, taking up the money and putting it in the cash register.  _What if they don't take cash what if they look at me weird I just wanted some water_ \--

There are teachers on the fight in an instant, though it takes a few moments to pull the students from each other. There are a few stray flames thrown back and forth-- from who, Evan can't tell, but he doesn't want to know, and the lunch lady excuses everyone standing in line and doesn't make anyone pay as the situation goes down. Evan grabs his water bottle tight and makes it back to the table where he left his stuff.

Where more people had begun to sit, apparently.

And by more people, Theo and Alana had taken their seat and were talking to Connor about something. Connor didn't look very interested in the conversation, and Evan felt that resonate within him. He didn't want to have to deal with anything else, either, but here he was, unfortunately. The situation looked tense as well, and Evan wished he could be able to just walk away, but damn it his textbooks and notebooks are right there.

"Is something the matter?" Alana is saying to Theo as Evan takes his seat again. He's glad he took the seat at the end of the table, so his nervous knee bounce won't shake the whole table, which would be terrible. "You never like to talk about your whim--"

"It's fine." Theo responds, a bit too quickly. "There's not much to it, you know? I heal myself. Big deal." He sits back in the chair, and his sleeves ride up a bit to show the multitude of scars lining his arms. He doesn't appear to notice. 

"Whims are generally much deeper than that--"

"Alana." Connor speaks up, though his face is buried in his arms and he looks like he's sleeping but he's not. "If the kid's not comfortable talking about it, let it be."

"Hey, I'm probably older than you--" Theo's protest is ignored.

"Alright. Would you like to tell us about  _your_ whim, then?" She suddenly notices Evan, as if he's been the one invisible this whole time. She smiles as she does, and directs the attention towards him."Ah, Evan! We were just discussing our whims, and how we can work together with them." 

"It's stupid."

"If we can fully understand what each of us are able to do, in a battle situation we might be able to assist our team mates if they need it, Connor." Alana glares daggers at Connor. "I've already explained mine--"

"--In  _full_ detail!--" Theo interrupts.

"--and I would love to know how everyone else's works!" Alana lets out a small laugh. "Of course, what brought up this topic was morbid curiosity. I'm curious about how whims work. If I didn't want to become a hero, I definitely would become a scientist that works with whims."

Evan nods, listening as he wraps his lunch up. It's in a brown paper bag, easy to throw away, and as much as he hates wasting the food, he's not hungry. It might be a mix of the stress of  _oh god there's so many people around what if I mess up_ and just...general anxiety, wrapped up with a pretty bow of nerves and insecurity. 

"Fine. If it gets you to shut up." Connor sits up, but he's slouching and frowning. "I can do this." Connor disappears from view momentarily, before appearing again. "And this." His hand turns...It appears as if his hand becomes muted, as the jacket sleeve around it, a muted color of its original, before going straight through the table. "I can't do it through water, though, or any other liquids, though if I'm soaked I can do it and dry immediately."

"Fascinating!" Alana says, her eyes sparkling. "It appears as if your whim allows you to pass only through solids, and not gaseous or liquid matters. How long are you usually able to stay invisible, or intangible?"

Connor shrugs. "Usually a couple of hours. Probably could go longer, if I wanted to."

"I see." Alana nods, and turns to Evan. "Tell us about yours, Evan!"

"I-uh- yeah, okay. Sure." Evan stutters. He feels himself red in the face already. He hates how easily his face turns red when he's nervous. "Um, I..." He'd never had to explain it before, except to his pediatrician and his doctor (and his mom was there, and was better at it than he was). "Plants. I c-can control plants?" 

"Obviously." Connor adds, leaning on his hand, looking bored as ever. 

"Do you have any limits on what you can control?" Alana asks. It seems as if she's playing a doctor role, in a messed up alternative reality where she's actually Evan's doctor. He hasn't gone to a doctor in a few years, for more reasons than one, except his therapist. 

Evan shakes his head. "T-Trees are a l-lot more work. I- usually j-just do vines. A-and flowers, too."

"And the leaves sticking out of your hair?" Theo asks. He's balancing a plastic fork from the lunch line between his lip and his nose, his lips puckered up. "I wish my whim was something like that."

"Everyone's whims are amazing, in one way or another, Theo." The way Alana says it makes Theo flinch a bit, and the fork slips out from where he was balancing it. "Are you able to control the..." She gestures to the vine wrapped around his arm, the leaves poking out of his hair.

Evan shakes his head. He's already prepared an answer for that question-  _Can you control it? Can you control your whim?-_ a question he's asked on what feels like a daily basis (it's only been, like, three times in the last month, but it feels like every day. It's a smooth response, one that should change the subject. What it comes out as is, "Noandcanwepleasestoptalkingaboutit?"

_Damn it Evan._

Alana's surely not reading anyone's minds at the moment (can she turn it off?) or else she'd have known when to stop beforehand. Evan's a little annoyed at that, that she has the ability to tell what people are thinking and feeling, but she can turn it off if it means learning new things. Everyone has their own faults, though. 

"Thank you, Evan." Alana says. She begins to collect her things, which is just her bag and a binder she appeared to carry everywhere with her. "I'll see you in class, then, team!"

It leaves Theo, Connor and Evan alone at the table.

"A bit nosy, ain't she?" Theo asks, balancing the fork again. 

"Yeah. Fucking annoying." Connor moans into his hands. 

* * *

Jared's cornered him after _Whim History_ , and Evan really wants to puke. It would be dry-heaving, though, or maybe one of those few times...Evan doesn't even want to think about  _that_  kind of incident.

"You hang out with your team a lot." Jared says.

"Yes. I mean, no? Th-They tend to h-hang around m-me."  _It's really weird because people are trying to talk to me and no one has ever done that before and I don't know how to respond?_

"Yeah?" Jared crosses his arms. "Well, don't forget about your best friend, the Insanely Cool Jared Kleinman, alright?"

_I thought we were family friends._ "O-okay. I mean, y-you can sit a-at the table w-with us, if you want?"

"Sit with Connor Murphy  _and_ that Theo kid?" Jared shakes his head. "No, they're both crazy. Don't let it rub off on ya."

"Wha- how are they crazy?" Evan asks, his voice a little louder than it should be. A couple of heads turn. "S-Sorry, that was loud."

Jared glances around, ignoring Evan's incessant apologies. "Look, Connor Murphy? Like I said, threw a printer at a teacher. In  _second_ grade, Evan. I could barely carry a textbook back then." 

_You were just really small and weak back then, Jared_ , Evan's thoughts ring out. 

"And Theo?" Jared lets out a laugh. "That kid's probably tied with Murphy's psycho-ness! You've never seen him in a fight before. It's fucking insane."

"O-Oh?" Evan hasn't seen Theo fight. Ironically, despite the amount of times that Theo has yelled "fight me!" to someone, or something, around him, he never really  _fights._ It took a couple of moments to realize that he was just saying it ironically, and didn't actually want to fight. 

"The one time he actually sparred against someone last year? Nearly broke the kid's leg." Jared explains, leaning against the lockers they were by. He froze, as Theo walked by and only gave a short wave and a smile to Evan as he passed. 

"I-I don't know, Jared." Evan says. 

"Yeah, pray to God and Jesus Christ that you never have to face  _that_ in a practice battle." Jared laughs again. 

"Jared, I'm Jewish."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes,,,,, this is just an excuse to include a group chat  
> but guys like if this ain't me  
> (wait theo is literally my self-insert i made so that i wouldn't stereotypically put all the DEH kids together. oops. if theo plays too big a part in this story sorry about that but i can't control myself. he's definitely not gonna be a part of the //main// group, if you know what i mean.)
> 
> this chapter is my excuse to explain everyone's powers. kinda. theo doesn't like his power and evan's like "AAAAAA" when asked about it, so...
> 
> and yeah my cat's actual name is leif erikson. but my dog isn't named edgar allan poe. i only thought it would be a funny thing for theo to have. weird kid.
> 
> I KNOW I MENTIONED THIS BEFORE I GOT [FANART](https://chickodee.tumblr.com/post/162788453820/a-quick-sketch-bc-i-love-theotheghostkids-fanfic) FOR THIS FIC. ADORABLE AMAZING FANART THAT IM GONNA HAVE SAVED EVERYWHERE NOW. GO LOOK AT IT THANK YOU SOSOSO MUCH
> 
> talk to me on [tumblr](theotheghostkid.tumblr.com) i don't bite but i might have to take an hour to form a coherent response!!


	5. With a thousand lies and a good disguise, hit 'em right between the eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Hey, this is good! I've managed to survive a couple of weeks of this school! I haven't died yet, or gone into shock from all the anxiety that's been going through me since school started. People are actually talking to me for once. This is good!_  
>   
> 
> Or: how simple thoughts make everything go wrong, and now Evan has to fight a lot of people in a tournament. 
> 
> hope you enjoy all 4,000+ words this took me 5ever  
> i don't think it's really good but here you gooo  
> tad bit of injury in this chapter, but it's a superhero story so ofc there's injury.

_Hey, this is good! I've managed to survive a couple of weeks of this school! I haven't died yet, or gone into shock from all the anxiety that's been going through me since school started. People are actually_ talking  _to me for once. This is good!_

Evan gulps. If only his thoughts this morning could have predicted this.

He should've known something was gonna happen when he walked into the gym, after changing (nope still not going in the locker rooms, no thank you sir) and saw that the bleachers had been pulled out, and a part of the floor had been...raised, above the ground. He should've expected something like this, after all, he goes to a school for superheroes, of course you're going to have to fight against each other for training. You have to learn how to fight, even if you don't graduate and go into heroism after school. It's a good thing to have on a college resume, supposedly, though most graduates from Magnus High tend to go on to be heroes.

He should've expected Coach Strong to stand before the bleachers as he instructed everyone to sit down, and announce that there will be practice battles going on for the next couple of days. 

Evan felt his entire being melt into a puddle. Oh, if only that could have been his whim, instead of growing plants all around him.

"Think of it as...a tournament, for today." Coach Strong announces. His arms are crossed behind him, like usual, and his eyes are shaded from the baseball cap he wore over his balding head. "We have the honor of having three seniors in our class today." 

So  _that's who_ is standing in the corner of the gym. The three walk up, confident and proud of their "senior" status. 

The first is a girl with silver hair, that reaches past her hips and is tied back in a bow. She's extremely pale, and all Evan can see of her eyes is a pure black. The middle kid is the shortest, but his arms are the longest, thin at the shoulders and thick as you go down. Their hands are huge, and it's almost cartoonish. The third kid is a tall boy, an intimidating boy (not Connor intimidating, but  _I know many ways to kill_ _you_ intimidating), with long dark hair and bright eyes. They look almost yellow and glowing, from where Evan sits. 

"Hey guys!" The girl introduces herself. "My name is Charlotte, but most people call me Tottie. This is Jalen Smith and Alton High. We're all seniors, and we're here today to watch your small tournament and be the judges!"

"And," Alton speaks. His eyes scan the crowd. Do they land on Evan, or hesitate a bit? Because that's what it felt like as Evan watched. "We're going to fight the team that wins."

A gasp goes through the crowd, and the sophomore class begins to chatter loudly. Evan definitely feels himself melt into a puddle. The lunch he managed to eat today definitely wanted to come back up at that moment. He glances around and sees Connor, who locked eyes with him for a minute.

Coach Strong clears his throat. "Yes, the winner of our tournament will be able to face the winner, if the team agrees to do so." He says. There's a glare directed towards Alton, who merely shrugs. "The matches will be limited to a certain time limit. You are not allowed to severely wound or hurt anyone during these matches. Only fight to disarm, not to knock out." He smirks. "You'll learn that later." A few students mumble about it, but the rest of their class is quiet.

If it's even possible, Evan feels his soul leave himself. He  _so_ does not want to do it, but faced with the possibility of a bad grade, he has to. Unfortunately. He doesn't realize it, but he's grasping for the vine that grew around his arm again, and this time, it's a lot thicker and a lot tighter around his arm. 

"Fifteen minutes for team time, and then the first one's up." Coach announces, pulling out a stop watch. "Fourteen minutes, fifty-nine seconds..."

The students all get up at once and group together, like moths to a light. Evan's still kinda frozen to his seat, and he feels so small when everyone stands up, and he only sits and watches as the groups get together, letting people pass by before he finally manages to pull himself up and towards his group, huddled under the scoreboard, because Magnus High isn't just a high school for superheroes, it's also a high school with a basket ball team, and from what Evan's heard, they're pretty good, too. 

Alana, Theo and Connor are all perfect for this. Fighting ordeal. He's managed to see a few times what Connor has, and he's pretty powerful, though he gets yelled at by the coach for fighting too dirty. Theo's never really been willing to fight anyone, even in personal spars, and he only returns the attacks and blocks them. But he's pretty quick, too. Alana's the perfect student, and a pretty good fighter, but she takes too long sometimes to think it through. And Evan. Oh boy, Evan. He knows he freezes up when it comes to actual combat situations. Coach Strong calls him out of it  _way too much_ , and Evan's lucky he's able to hide behind people and look small and be invisible without actually having a whim like Connor that makes one invisible. He can't fight to save his life. 

"This. Is. Stupid." Theo says, crossing his arms.

"A little out of the blue, yes." Alana corrects him with a glare. "But I believe we should use every opportunity we can to our advantage. We all want to become heroes, right?"

Connor shrugs. Evan's quiet. Theo grunts in response.

"Really, guys?" Alana sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose. She's not wearing her usual glasses that day, which is good, considering the situation they were in. "We should think of a general strategy that could apply to any team out there, not just one of them. We might not know everyone's whims straight away, right?"

They've been doing so much work within their own teams, that it's hard to know the other classmates in the training class  _alone._ Jared complains about his team so much that Evan knows their whims, if they ever have to fight against each other, but he doesn't know everything.  _What kind of general strategy could be drafted in twelve minutes, though?_

"You don't know everyone's whims?" Theo asks, his eyes widened a bit with shock. "That's, like, the easiest thing to pick out of people, isn't it?"

"We haven't been able to establish connections with much of our other classmates outside of our group." Alana huffs. "At least, I haven't. And I'm sure I'm not the only one." Alana looks at Evan and Connor, and Connor rolls his eyes in response.

"Come on, I bet I can name all of the whims in this class."

"Oh, really? Prove it!"

As Alana and Theo continued to bicker, Evan leaned up against the wall. He was trying to do what his therapist suggested, deep breaths when he feels his anxiety getting super bad. In for ten, hold for seven, out for ten. Repeat until fully calm. That's how it was supposed to work, right? But Evan, no matter how hard he tried, was freaking out internally. At least it was better than freaking out externally, but he really hated that the freaking out was happening in the first place.  _What did you expect when you go to a school for becoming a professional hero? A frolic in a field of daisies? No, you_ idiot _, it's not that easy. Stupid._

Luckily, his team had made a strategy for their first fight, right?

 **Wrong.** Theo and Alana had spent too long bickering that there was no time to form a baseline strategy. However, by the looks of it, the other teams hadn't formed strategies well either, or they hadn't a strong one to base everything off upon. Coach Strong calls everyone back to the bleachers to begin the "tournament". Their group sits together, Evan squished in the middle of Alana and Connor, as the first two teams are called up.

Both teams, Evan knows no one on. Out of the corner of his eye, he spots a board Coach Strong has set up, showing off the way the tournament was going to fight. There were their teams listed, by different letters of the alphabet (Evan was on Team E, how ironic) and it was bracketed much like other kinds of tournaments. The first battle was between team A and team B, then team C and team D would battle. The winning team of both of those battles would take on the other team, and so on, until it ended with one team at the end, and the Team Super Sparkles was listed at the bottom.  _Is that the senior team?_ Evan wonders.

He watches the first battle, somewhat hidden behind his hands. Connor managed to grab the four of them a seat in the very back of the bleachers, so Evan could look down on everyone as they watched the tournament, and no one could look at them, back. Which was really nice, because Evan was still in the process of freaking out over everything. The first battle was intense, some Rich kid had a loud scream that made everyone's ears throb and knocked someone into a wall. A kid with fire powers retaliated quickly however, but not enough to burn anyone. Team A won, and then it was team C and team D.

 _Hey look it's Jared_ \- He thought to himself, looking down at Team D. Jared looked like he was cracking a joke at something before boosting himself onto the platform, with someone else from his group close by. The other two members? Not so much. They must been the two that Jared always talk shit about. But the group looks strong. Like, really strong, and it's not a surprise that they beat the group against them with ease. Jared was right about the one girl-- Evan could've sworn her name was Ellie, but he overheard it from Theo, who has said that he only has "approximate knowledge", whatever that means, so he could be wrong. She was very...bright. She created an orb of light in her hands and tossed it at the other team, essentially blinding them, while Jared and the other girl swept in and knocked down the other team. Their fourth member stood off to the side, just...standing there.

Evan has a feeling that's what he's going to look like. And he gets to figure out, too, what its going to be like, as his team is called up to go against Team F, and if his soul hasn't left his body yet, it sure has now.

* * *

 

"Evan, are you okay?" Connor asks him as they're readying the battle field. Apparently, Jared using his whim in the last one made it malfunction a bit, and it could've collapsed under their fight if they had gone up immediately. He spots Coach Strong scolding Jared out of the corner of his eye. "Evan?"

"O-Oh. Yeah. I'm fine. Never better!" Evan says, probably too fast.

"You stuttered, what, once in that sentence?" Connor blinks at him. "Are you so stressed that you can't stutter anymore? Also, you've got..." He gestures to Evan's hair.

Of course. Evan yanks at the leaves sprouting from his head, wincing a bit at the sting that comes with. But that always comes with. "Thanks." He sighs. "I-I don't want to do t-this." Unfortunately, he has no choice in the matter, as Coach Strong has fixed the problem, and they're already up on the platform. Evan tries to ignore the people staring at him from the bleachers, all the unblinking eyes, but the feeling fades quickly when he sees what he and his team are going to be dealing with.

Theo sums up their four opponents quite easily. Seth Thomas, a whim that allows him to manipulate blood. But only if it's outside the body. Useless in this fight, since they're prohibited from bodily harm. Might not stop him, however. Tracy Elm, her whim allows her to grow her hair out like Medusa (so snakes) and she can stun people with a look. However, if eye contact is broken, the stun stops. Lexus Rivera, a whim that allows her to control fire. She's related to the other fire controller earlier, but her fire is purple instead of blue. So hot (about 9,010 degrees F, Evan learns later). It definitely stands out to Evan, who does not do good with fire. Finally, their leader, Al Leech, whose whim allows him to drain energy from people with just a touch. 

These people have  _very_ dangerous whims, Evan realizes. But in a way, Alana's can be dangerous, too, as can Connor's. He doesn't know how Theo's works yet. It just heals him, that's all he's said. And Evan's over here with freaking daisies growing out of his hair and a vine wrapped around his arm, for  _comfort_ for his  _anxiety._ He's pathetic. 

"How do you know all of this?" Connor asks.

Theo shrugs. "I people watch when I'm bored." 

Their fight begins with a loud, echoing airhorn scream. Lexus immediately charges at them, her arms glowing in a purple fury, while Tracy follows with her hair hissing at the opposing team. Lexus collides with their team, but it's just with Theo.

Theo's grabbed her by the arms, completely oblivious to the fact that her arms are currently covered in purple flames. She seems a bit...off-set from the encounter, but it doesn't stop her from surging forward, managing to break his grip for a moment to deliver a flaming punch to the gut.  Theo doesn't even flinch. He watches as Seth goes after Alana, probably one of the best options for him to go at if his powers are going to get useless, Evan figures, and Tracy charges to Connor, who blinks out of existence without hesitation.

Evan doesn't get to see much else of the battle as Al steps before him, cracking his knuckles.  

"Evan Hansen, huh?" Al asks, taking more steps towards Evan. "Is that your whim, huh? Growing  _flowers_?"

"I- no, uh--"

"Oh, yeah, I forgot. Your great-whatever-grandfather is Fern, isn't he?" Al laughs. It's a deep, guttural laugh, that reminds Evan of someone he'd rather not think about in the middle of a battle. "I say bullshit, but whatever you say, Hansen." He reaches out, casually, to rest his hand on Evan's shoulder, but Evan recoils, less from the fact of knowing his whim, more from a constant avoidance to people. 

 _He really was!_ Evan wants to say. There's a cooler, more confident, heroic version of Evan buried underneath multiple layers of anxiety that he can't pull out.  _My grandfather_ was  _Fern, and I got half of my powers from him!_ But shh, no one knows about his healing powers. Yet. They're weak, anyway. The confident Evan wants to speak but he's buried too deep, so Evan can only think confident thoughts violently at Al.

"Kinda think the power's more for a fa-" Albert Ryan Leech isn't able to finish his sentence before Evan stomps on his foot. It shocks Al that Evan actually fights back, and it shocks Evan that he  _just stomped on someone's foot_.

"Nice one, Evan!" Someone calls out from the crowd. It's definitely Jared.

Evan gulps nervously as Al grabs him by the collar of his shirt. It's kind of terrifying, because Al is at least a good half-foot taller than him, and his limbs aren't proportional, they're long and gangly (not, like, Connor long. Connor is mostly leg at this point in life, but Al has a terrible hunched back and long limbs. He's only well known because of his power and his threatening voice.) He holds a hand up, mere centimeters from Evan's face, as pure chaos is exploding around them. (Theo's probably on fire.)

"You little--" Al doesn't get to finish. In fact, he's thrown off balance as a Theo, who is definitely on fire, runs into the two of them. Evan feels the flames lick his bare arm, and crawls away immediately, while Theo runs face-first into the taller sophomore, tossing them both off the side of the platform. Everyone stares in silence as Al screeches and pushes Theo off, but is still caught on fire, and runs to where the locker rooms are, hopefully to shower.

"Drop and roll, Theo!" Alana calls after Theo, who's rolling in circles on the gym floor to try and get the purple flames off of him.

Somehow, that was counted as a victory in their favour, and Team E moved on to the next round.

* * *

By some miracle, Team E makes it to the final round. Not without a lot of difficulty, however. When they face Team G, the one kid with a whim that temporarily disables whims manages to get _both_ Connor and Evan, which is strange because Evan can't feel the comforting presence of the vine around his arm, and it just feels like a bit of his life has been sucked away. Connor manages just fine, his dual-whim assisting in still allowing him to phase through things. By the time the effects of that ware off, Evan's never happier to have things growing in his hair, even if it's just dandelions and weeds. 

Team D, which they fight against Jared and his team, is a little difficult. Evan's blinded by the supernova of Ellie, and nearly taken down by Jared, but he pushes his family friend, in more of a child-like manner than an actual fighting manner. Jared doesn't show complaints, and it brings back memories of when they were in elementary school, when everything was okay, and they both dreamed of being amazing superheroes. Here they were, still somewhat going for the dream. Evan not so much, but Jared was a determined asshole. Alana was able to telekinetically direct everyone when they couldn't see well (she had seen it coming ahead of time, the mind-reading quirk coming in handy) and Connor sneaks up on Ellie and knocks her down, just ever-so-casually. 

"Holy shit." Connor says as they knock down the last members of the semi-finals. "Did we really just do that?"

"I...I think so, Connor." Alana says. "Are we going to..." She glances at the seniors, who are huddled together in their small group of three, which is terrifying enough as it is. 

Evan gulps. The world's been spinning for the past hour, but he's trying to fight through and suppress his anxiety. Which isn't good, because it's going to come up at a terrible time again, maybe in the middle of the fight with the seniors they're currently in danger of, or maybe in the middle of one of his classes. It feels like he's a shaken-up soda bottle with the cap loose, any minute now he's going to explode.

They're excused from the fight to cool off before they fight the seniors, who are assigned to give a lecture on the class's fighting skills. Tottie speaks most of the time, mostly positive feedback, though occasionally Alton would toss in his own two cents, most of which was degrading to the rest of the class, and not helpful feedback at all. It was,  _you're all idiots,_ or  _you're all weak_ , and  _none of you are gonna survive until senior year like this_ , things Coach Strong says but they've been pretty much habituated to over the past few weeks, now from an upperclassman they were supposed to look up to.

"He's an ass." Connor sums up. Evan nods in agreement, and they're going to have to fight that ass. 

Tottie gives a quick lecture on different kinds of roles team members can play in a real scenario. They've got the support, the offense, and the defense. It sounds almost like a videogame, the way that the silver-haired girl explains it, but it's much more different than that, because it's real life, not some computer game, right? It's not, like, Evan spent half of his summer playing silly little indie computer games instead of socializing with people or going outside, you know?

(Spoiler: that's exactly what he did. No one would be friends with a loser like him.)

* * *

 

"This is the final match!" Coach Strong announces. He glares particularly at the seniors. "Now, if this was real life, it would be no bars at all, however, since you're all children, I have to hold you back. No maiming, harming, burning, impairing, wounding, or causing purposeful physical harm to either opponent. That means you, Alton." The boy in question shrugs. "Seniors, I know you're ready for a fight, but hold back on the fledgelings, or else I won't get them out of the nurse's office for a week." He turns to the sophomores, Evan's team. "You're all going to lose."

"Thanks, Coach!" Theo replies. It's hard to tell if he's being sarcastic, because it's a positive attitude with a thumbs-up. 

"And you're held to the same rules." He pulls out the airhorn, and fires it off. "And...fight!"

Evan's frozen. As everyone assumes an offensive or defensive pose (Connor just freaking turns invisible), he's frozen, staring at the seniors in awe and in fear. Mostly fear, and he feels the bottle shake up more, the top unscrew a bit more, his anxiety get a little more bubblier and looser, and it's starting to overwhelm him. The threat of the battle is the only thing keeping him grounded, ironically, or else he feel as if he'd float away. Maybe into oblivion.

 _Anywhere but here_ , Evan thinks to himself, as he dodges an attack from Tottie. Her silver hair has grown in length, and it resembles thick clumps of spiderweb, her whim. She's grabbed Theo with it already, and he's struggling against the sticky hold. He figures that she's just going to web out the weaker ones first. He gulps, and ducks under an attack. Some of it gets in his hair, and dandelions and his own blond hair is pulled out when she reels back. She moans in annoyance, but she's smiling really big.

He glances quickly to see how everyone else is doing. Connor's up against Alton (or, at least, Alton's just randomly punching the air) and Alana's taken on Jalen. She's able to telekinetically move Jalen's arms, and she's getting quite a kick out of it as the older boy tries to attack her but is frozen in place. Tottie tosses another bit of her hair, a thick webbing that sticks itself to Evan's wrist. 

"Gotcha!" She cries in sadistic glee, pulling him closer. But there's more of a look of...disappointment, in her face, too? Was she expecting more of a fight? Evan wasn't one for fighting to begin with, so him fighting back was going to be a rare sight. Plus, what if she got hurt from him? From him growing a spontaneous tree, or maybe his vine would hit her too hard, or she'd be allergic to flowers he grows or something. "Come on, there's gotta be more of a fight in you than that!" Theo's still struggling in her bonds. Evan knows it would be mortifying to be caught up like that and hopeless, so he reaches out his hand and pulls.

A small agave plant grows out of the wood of the floor in the middle of them. The leaves are thick, but pointed and sharp, almost like a knife. If he wasn't careful he could get scratched up by the plant. 

 _Well, that's all I got, huh?_ Evan thinks.  _All of that and you just grow a small plant, with sharp little leaves-_ he catches himself  _-sharp leaves._ He pulls off one of the leaves and uses it as a makeshift dagger and cuts away at the webbing wrapped around his arm. Tottie is just as surprised as he is, and she lets Theo go- though he's immobilized and wrapped up in webbing as a small ball, unable to move- and focuses her attention on Evan.

"Now  _that's_ what I'm taking about!" She says. She reels back for a moment, as does her hair, before it shoots out and grabs for Evan again. He yelps as it, again, grabs him, but it's by his forearm and he can't react as she runs around him in a circle, ready to tie him up the moment she can. Evan, not even realizing what he's doing, sends out his vine- the one always wrapped around his arm- and causes Tottie to trip.

"S-Sorry!" He stutters, stepping back a bit and pulling her sticky hair off. It gives him a shudder as he pulls it off, like removing a large piece of gum from his arm. He lets go, and it recoils back to Tottie, who stands up again.

She's smiling. It's a tad bit of a creepy smile, but she's smiling and she looks determined. Her eyes are a bit of an amber color, Evan realizes, when you're standing close to her. It contrasts against her pasty pale skin and silver hair, and she cracks her knuckles before readying to shoot again, but she's stopped in the middle of it by someone yelling. They both freeze, and look across the battlefield, to where Alton is standing. His face as gone red, and he's glaring at one person in particular.

 _Connor?_ Evan asks himself, his heart skipping a beat. What was going to happen-

Alton's screaming now, but Evan can't understand what he's saying. He's reaching for his hair, untying it and letting it fall around him. It's a different long than Connor's, whose hair is more of a mess. Alton's is neat and silky, and he watches in shock as Alton  _rips_ at his hair, ripping a good chunk of it out.

"Alton, wait--" Tottie begins to stop him. "-- Coach Strong said  _not_ to--"

Alton doesn't hear her, or she's being ignored purposely. Connor's frozen in place, struggling to find out what's happening, but the next thing that the entire class knows, is that over the sound of Coach Strong and Tottie and Jalen yelling at him to stop, Alana and Theo yelling at Connor to run, Alton tosses his hair at Connor. The hair shifts in mid-air into sharp razors, and they are thrown directly at Connor. 

Evan thinks it goes a lot slower than it actually does, his world feels like it's in slow-motion as Connor's cut up by the hairs. Mostly across his arms, but there's one that cuts right under his eye, the one that has a speck of brown in it, that Evan thinks is cool, but he can't exactly say that aloud because that would be awkward, right? 

"Alton High, get down here." Coach Strong yells, and Evan feels time crawl back up on him again. He turns to the classmates on the bleachers, and begins a lecture on proper use of whim, or something to that extent. Alana and Tottie begin to attempt to free Theo from his cocoon prison, and Jalen stands over them, trying to offer his help wherever he could.

Connor wipes at his face, before running off to the locker room. Evan's standing there for a moment, in silence, before he follows Connor, too. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaah sorry if it's rushed I just wanted to get something out!!! the end is rushed a bit bc I wanted to make it to the last battle. ugh. this chapter took me forever but I didn't want to break it up. so all 4k words should be enjoyable for lack of an update in the past few days. 
> 
> so who wants to hear something funny? i've got chapters 6-12 planned, right? know what's gonna happen in them, know what i'm gonna be writing...  
> chapter 13 and 14 are already done and written. what the hell is wrong with me?
> 
> someone help me put zoe in this story idk where she could come innnn
> 
> dandelions mean many things, one of which being pride. 
> 
> the whims of these seniors:
> 
> tottie is based off a candy stripe spider. she actually has marks down her back similar to the spider (see here). her hair is made of spider silk and she can control it to how she wishes, and it's sticky as heck, too. it doesn't work well with water, though, and if it's hit at the right places it can break easily.
> 
> jalen's whim gives them giant arms. they grow and shrink them at will.
> 
> alton's whim allows him to turn his DNA into small little razors. he rips out his hair (it grows back abnormally fast, within like, 3 hours) and tosses it at his opponents, and it turns into razors. he can also make his skin abnormally sharp. if that makes sense. i thought it was a cool power.


	6. Get mine and make no excuses, waste of precious breath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the sparring incident, Evan learns that Connor isn't at Magnus High willingly, either.
> 
> tw; self-harm mentioned, connor being connor
> 
> in other news chickodee on tumblr has graced us with this [amazing art ](https://chickodee.tumblr.com/post/163025681045/these-precious-little-superheros-theotheghostkid) of the main team!!! look how sassy theo is i'm in love with it

"C-Connor?" Evan asks into the dark locker room. The lights are turned off, the only light coming in through the small windows positioned above the lockers. He's questioning less the sight of the windows than the problem in front of him. He glances around, before spotting a pair of legs, wedged between a space between lockers and a wall. It's not that tight of a squeeze, and Connor isn't that good at hiding himself.

"Go away." Connor's response.

Evan walks around the small bench, before standing in front of Connor. His hair is a mess, and his arms- covered in scars  _and_ the new wounds- are exposed, even in the dim light. "I-I know it's s-stupid to ask, but a-are you okay?"

"Does it look like I'm  _fucking okay_?" Connor snaps. He's had a few moments in the past week of anger, especially when they've had a few team assignments. No one was particularly bothered by it, though, Evan thought. (Evan didn't like it, but everyone has...issues, he supposed. He never noticed Theo flinched every time someone yelled.) 

"I-I-" Evan sighs. How is he supposed to word this? He rubs his hands together nervously. "Ah, I c-can stop. Stop the bleeding."

Connor looks up over his arms. He's curled on himself, and through the dim light, Evan definitely sees tears rolling down his cheeks. "What?"

"I-I don't t-talk much about t-this, b-but I can kind-of heal?" He takes a breath. "It's f-from my mom, she c-can heal, too. But it's n-not that strong, and it was a s-stupid idea, sorry."

"No. Yes." Connor groans, outstretching his arms. "Just do it. I don't fucking care."

Evan nods, and he calls on that power. Nicely.  _Please, let me heal him_? He asks, no one in particular, but apparently it's easier to heal when he asks nicely instead of just healing itself. His shaky hands are glowing a bit, and he wraps them around Connor's arms. The bleeding stops, and the cuts scab over, but that's all that remains. Scars. He hesitates on letting go, his eyes trailing over the old scars, and he shudders a tad bit, unconsciously. "B-better?"

"No." Connor moves out of his corner a bit. "But thanks, I guess."

"O-Okay." Evan sits in front of the other boy. They sit in silence for a few minutes. "I-Is there a-anything else y-you want to talk about? I don't w-want to push you, o-or anything. No. Sorry. You don't have to speak."

Connor stares at him for a moment, before more emotion explodes from him. It seems to be bottled-up frustration, somewhat like the anxiety that's bottled up inside of Evan.

"It's my fucking father!" Connor pulls at his hair. He's curled up again, his knees pressed close, and he flickers. "That fucking idiot made me apply here. He made my sister, Zoe, apply here, too. He doesn't care what we want, we have strong whims and we  _have_ to become heroes, to boost our family's reputation even more."

Evan flinches. He's moved to sit close to Connor, but not too close. Class is definitely going to start soon, but the locker room floor feels much more comforting than the thought of going to  _Whim History_ and having to explain to Jared that  _oh, yeah, I totally forgot to mention that I can heal people, too._ He'd love to just stay here and disappear, but Connor...

"I-I know what you f-feel." Evan says quietly. He's sure Connor can't hear him, but the glare he gets in return proves otherwise.

"How  _I_ feel? How could you even know how I feel? Your great grandfather-or whatever- was a fucking superhero, it's in your  _blood."_ Connor retaliates. "You're  _meant_ to be here, Evan."

"I'm not!" Evan yells back. It's definitely the loudest he's ever had his voice, and it makes both him  _and_ Connor flinch at it. He takes a deep breath, and oh, look, he's crying. But Connor's crying a bit, too, but it's more of an angry cry than what Evan has. Stupid anxiety cry. His voice quivers, and he falls quieter. "I'm not able to order my own food, because what if I mess up when I'm counting the money, and I don't have enough money? What if the person taking my order laughs at me because I'm weird and sweaty and nervous looking? I can't be a hero, either."

"You signed up for this." Connor hisses. 

"I didn't." The good thing about crying, is that it usually pushed away (most of) his nervous stutter, because all of his nerves were coming out. Of his eyes. In the form of tears. "Jared made me, b-because he thought that I was strong enough, but I'm not. I'm not strong. I can't fight, I'm too afraid of everything, I can't _even control my_ _own whim,_  and oh my god, I think I'm going to puke." He coughs, and rubs at the tears on his face, trying to dry off.

"Jesus Christ, we're both fucked." Connor's hand is resting on his shoulder now. It's slightly comforting, his touch.

"N-No." Evan says, a quirk of a smile forming. "I'm Jewish."  That manages to get a laugh out of Connor. He's got a surprisingly nice laugh, better than the laughter Evan heard throughout the whole day, and the two boys just sit in the locker room, laughing at a poorly made joke, trying to forget their problems and the world around them.

* * *

 _"I still can't believe_ your  _team made it to the final round."_ Jared says over the phone. It's another night, another night with Jared on speaker phone, with his mom working late again and Evan doing homework. Both Jared and Evan were supposed to be working on an essay for their Whim History class, but Jared wasn't staying on task, as usual, he was focused on the tournament.  _"Like, congrats, dude, but at the same time, what the hell happened out there."_

"'Dunno." Evan answers curtly. He's trying to figure out how to word the next sentence for his essay. Or should he just delete the paragraph and try it all over again? It was his fourth attempt at writing this essay, that was due in two days. His eyes were drooping, and a look on the clock told him it was only 11:49 PM. His body was exhausted physically, but he wanted to at least finish this paragraph--

 _"Those seniors were ruthless on you guys, I have to admit."_ Jared's saying.  _"But it was hilarious to see Benson wrapped up like that. Or when he was on fire earlier? Priceless."_

Evan wanted to retaliate,  _Jared, he could've gotten hurt_ , but after a few weeks of working with Theo Benson, you learn that he doesn't...get hurt. At all. His phone buzzes with a new notification, from the group chat, but he ignores it because a) Evan needs to finish this essay, and b) Jared's talking to him. "I-I was more f-focused on trying to n-not die."

 _"Coach wouldn't let anyone die."_ He stops for a moment.  _"I think. Either way, you guys made it pretty far out there. Somehow. What were you_ even  _doing the whole time?"_

"P-Panicking." Evan responds. "P-panicking. A lot."

_"Obviously. And what happened with you and Murphy, huh? A quickie in the locker room--"_

The way Jared suggests what he's suggesting throws alarms off in Evan's head. "Oh my God, Jared,  _no._ "

_"I mean, it's fine, I get it, you're gay--"_

"Jared I am not gay!"

_"Really? You never shut up about Chis Evans--"_

"Jared."

 _"Fine, I'll stop. For now."_ Jared laughs.  _"But, like, what was up with Murphy?"_

"He, uh, g-got hurt. I wanted to make s-sure he was o-okay." Of course, he didn't tell Jared about the...healing thing. No one knows about the healing thing Evan does. Except his mom, and now, apparently Connor Murphy. But it's such a weak dual whim, does it even count? It's not even listed on any of his official papers (they haven't updated those since Evan was, like, six, when his whim really started to  _grow_ out of control. God, Theo's puns were starting to effect Evan's thoughts now, too) so it's not...technically there, either. From a legal standpoint, at least, and even though his mom says they should go and change it, Evan's unsure because it doesn't really do anything.

 _"Aw, precious little Evan, going to help someone."_ There's a crash somewhere in Jared's room.  _"Shit. I gotta go. See you later, Evan."_

"S-See you l-" Jared's already hung up, so Evan tries to focus on his essay again. They were supposed to pick a professional hero from the Dawn Age (when heroes were first coming around) and write a mini-biography on them. He had an advantage, because that's when his grandfather was a hero, but he felt like he was abusing a bit of his bloodline by doing that. Plus, it brought up things Evan wasn't prepared to think about, so he focused on a random hero- Shadow Lady, the first female hero of the day- and tried to write on her, but it wasn't working out well. 

He closes his laptop, burying himself in his pillow. He wanted to scream, but he didn't. Instead, he grabs his phone, and sees there's more than twenty notifications in the group chat.  _Oh no._

  _42 unread messages in 2% 4 LYFE_

> **[THEO]:** look all i'm saying is that whole milk is better than 2%
> 
> **[CONNOR]:** bullshit 2% isl ife
> 
> **[THEO]:** no it tastes like dying cow poo
> 
> **[CONNOR]:** alanaaa back me up on this
> 
> **[ALANA]:** Sorry, I can't drink milk at all. I'm lactose intolerant. Almond milk is really good, however!
> 
> **[THEO]:** but if you /could/ you'd go for the nice whole milk right  
>  **[THEO]:** 2% gives off bad vibes. cause like, what's the 2% of, anyway?
> 
> **[ALANA]:** Actually, the 2% in that milk just means 2% of it consists of cream, or milk fat
> 
> **[CONNOR]:** y do you know this
> 
> **[ALANA]:** Sometimes people have weird thoughts, and unfortunately I remember most of them  
>  **[ALANA]:** At least that one came in handy
> 
> **[YOU]:** Um, what did I just come into?
> 
> **[THEO]:** HI EVAN WE'RE DEBATING MILK WHAT MILK DO YOU LIKE 2% OR WHOLE
> 
> **[CONNOR]** : hes gonna say 2 bc its better
> 
> **[THEO]:** um,,, no,,, why do you insult me like this
> 
> **[YOU]:**  I don't even want to know why you are debating milk, but...  
>  **[YOU]:** I like 2%.
> 
> **[THEO]:** :0
> 
> **[YOU]:** And whole milk. I drink both.
> 
> **[THEO]** : so connor i win
> 
> **[CONNOR]** : fukc you i win
> 
> **[YOU]** : Sorry!! I like both!!!   
>  **[YOU]:** So I guess, uh, don't you both win?
> 
> **[THEO]:**...oh.......
> 
> **[CONNOR]:** shit u right
> 
> **[ALANA]:** Well, I'm glad this argument has ended! I'm off to bed, see you all at school tomorrow ;)
> 
> **[THEO]:** yeah i should sign off too. see yall tomorrow. :P
> 
> **[CONNOR]:** you did not just use yall were not in the south
> 
> **[THEO]:** sorry lived there for a couple years it rubs off on me sometimes but night night!!! :PPPP
> 
> **[YOU]:** Good night everyone!!
> 
> **[CONNOR]:** k

It's then that Evan realizes that he hasn't eaten yet. He wanders into his kitchen, looking for something to eat. What could he eat? They got groceries the other day, but just meagre things to get through the week, and what they could afford, but his mom was getting her paycheck on Friday so they could go out and get some more stuff. He sees pieces of bread, a couple apples (one of which is moldy, gross), and things to make his sandwich with for lunch tomorrow, in the fridge. There's remains of a pizza in the fridge as well, but it's a couple of days old and it's been Evan's dinner since it was ordered, and he wasn't too big on eating pizza for the fourth time in a row. He settles on getting a glass of milk.

It's actually 2% milk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> evan liking both milks is a fun low key joke at him being bisexual hahahahaaa  
> also i'm not jewish but i wanna make it clear that evan is jewish, at least, in this story (if anyone who loves this story is jewish, feel free to hmu on tumblr if you have any requests/headcanons abt jewish evan and i'll put 'em in!! i don't wanna make assumptions but i am Catholic™ so i don't know anything)
> 
> in other news, how is the story going so far?? what do you like about it? what do you not like about it? please comment and tell me!! this chapter was finished shortly after the last because I have no control when I write at 12:30 in the morning. 
> 
> hopefully I can include zoe in the future chapters I'm just struggling to put her in. she's mentioned here at least? i think she's gonna start to come in more when the obligatory "evan goes to connor's house" chapter comes around, if it ever does, hahaha.
> 
> this chapter was gonna have a little part at the end that I couldn't fit in and it didn't make sense. but it went like this- theo gets to school late the next day because he's hit by a car. it's more of a pointer to how whims are used in everyday life outside of the school, for everyone else (he survives, but the car doesn't so much). couldn't fit it in and it was more of a gag at theo's powers too. but yeah.
> 
> talk to me on [tumblr](http://theotheghostkid.tumblr.com/) pleeeaaaseee i love your lovely little voices~


	7. I'm waking up at the start of the end of the world,

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Field trip! Field trip! Field trip!" Theo bounced up and down the morning of, as they waited outside in groups to get on the buses.
> 
> What was supposed to be a field trip became an attack.
> 
>  
> 
> (slightly inspired by BHNA hahaha)  
> ((also I was on a random video on yt and _someone linked my fanfic in it what the **h*ck**_ the video's [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xs553NREhDA) so shout out to Space Gal out there whoever you are and also wow it's so surreal dudes :OOO))

"Field trip! Field trip! Field trip!" Theo bounced up and down the morning of, as they waited outside in groups to get on the buses. It was a field trip that was  _very highly recommended_ by Coach Strong, if not, mandatory, for the class. However, Evan realized that with the size of their class, they'd end up split up.

"Theo, calm down!" Alana giggles after their friend.

If there wasn't teams he'd be worrying he'd be stuck alone. But he was waiting in the school yard for the bus to come, with Alana, Jared, Connor and Theo. Jared wasn't a big fan of much of his group (what a surprise) so he'd decided to just "hang" around them.  _Maybe it'll make Jared less of an asshole about Theo and Connor_ , Evan thinks. He wants his friends to get along-- can he call them friends? Is he allowed to call them friends? He should ask before he calls them their friends-- so hopefully...

..."Murphy, can I ask something?" Jared asks.

"What do you want, Kleinman?" Connor responds, in an equally condescending tone.

"How the hell did you throw a printer in the second grade?" Jared crosses his arms. "If I hadn't been there, I wouldn't have believed it myself. Your whim allow you to do that shit, or something?"

"No. Fuck off."

"Aw, come on, Murphy--"

"J-jared." Evan's trying to pull the two apart before they fight. Evan grips his friend's arm, attempting to pull him away from the fight. Connor was glaring daggers, and in his black-jacket over his school track suit, he looked very intimidating. He didn't want to see anyone hit the other. Or yell. This definitely isn't what he hoped for. "Let it. L-let it go, Jared."

"Fine." Evan's grip relaxes, which allows Jared to give Connor the middle finger (though the way he does it, there's more of a playful glee in Jared's eyes, and Evan hoped that Connor could see it, too) before turning around to talk to Alana about something.

He wasn't really paying attention, and he just stood there, awkwardly, between his family friend and Connor. He feels really uncomfortable, and he can't exactly just brush that off, if he wants to be honest. The track suit was just given to him the other day, the standard uniform for special "training missions". It was a grey, long-sleeved top with long pants. They were loose, which wasn't exactly comfortable on Evan. He wonders for a moment if he accidentally ordered the wrong size, a large instead of a medium, but he knows he had to have ordered a medium, he checked three times before handing Coach Strong the order form at the beginning of the year. It makes sense that he'd mess up on something like that, right,  _because all I do is make mistakes I can't do anything good-_

"Hey. Evan." Connor's nudging him with his elbow, his hands still in his pockets. "Bus is here."

"O-Oh. Yeah." When he looks up, one of those red-and-white buses for school field trips is waiting for them. That's their purpose, right? To be used for field trips? How often are they even used? Coach Strong makes sure they file onto the bus in a single line, and Evan's thoughts speed up when he realizes  _oh god, who am I supposed to sit with I don't know what if I have to sit with someone who hates me, what if they want to beat me up or hurt me or something--_

He's relieved, simply put, when Connor Murphy grabs him by his sleeve and pulls him into the seat. Connor's nabbed the window seat, but Evan doesn't mind. Theo and Alana take the seat across from them, as all the teams seem to be sitting together. Jared sits in front of the two, talking about some conspiracy theory he'd heard the other night or something to that caliber. As the bus begins to settle together before they begin the drive, he begins to brush his hands through his hair, to pick away the little flower blossoms that had begun to sprout.

"Does it hurt?" Connor's voice startles him, again, for the second time in less than ten minutes.

"O-Oh. Th-this?" He pulls out a blossom to show Connor. It stings for a moment, but it's not too bad. "No. Not really. I guess, I mean, it's like...plucking a hair?" Surely he's had to have done something like that before, right? "T-Twigs feel like taking out, um, removing a spl-splinter sometimes, though."

"Ah." He says. They're silent for a few moments, as the bus begins to roll out of the school parking lot. "Where are we going, again?"

"Youdon'tremember?" Connor glares at him, and Evan clears his throat. "Sorry! Sorry. Uh, that came out, t-too wrong. Um. We're going to the, the uh, Fortan Center. The- the--" How is he supposed to explain it? He'd been to the Fortan Center once in his life, and that was with his parents when he was younger, and it was only the half of the center that was the museum. Half of the center was dedicated to the history of superheros and whims in society, while the other half was an exclusive training center for up-and-coming pro heroes, with different simulations set up for natural disasters, and plenty of volunteers to pretend to be villains/hostages if it calls for it. It's the biggest place, too, to go to learn to be a hero, if someone isn't able to get into any of the high schools and graduate and get their official license that way. "Y-you know what it is."

Connor nods. "Never been, though."

"I-I went, once. It's been, uh, a few years, t-though." He's turning fifteen soon, so it would be... eight years. Eight years passed by like that? It seemed like only yesterday he'd been. "O-of course, it was just th-the museum part. There were a lot of, a lot of hero exhibits and stuff?" There was one about Fern, too, the hero he was constantly compared to, the hero he was constantly expected to be as well, and it was cool to see it back then. It was cool to know that someone from your family was in a museum. It's not cool anymore. It's more of a,  _oh, yeah_ , kind of thing. A thing that you're expected to be, but you're more or less indifferent to it now. 

"Cool." Connor responds.

"Sorry, it's n-not very interesting." Evan wasn't particularly interesting. He just grew plants and stuff. 

"You're fine." Connor says. "And stop apologizing so much, Jesus Christ."

"So-" Evan begins to apologize, again, even though Connor said to not apologize, but it's not like he can help it. 

" _Don't._ " 

 _Sorry._ Connor doesn't have a mind-reading whim, to say the least, so Evan would just...apologize internally. In his thoughts. So he couldn't hear it. That's how it could work, right... no, that just sounds completely stupid now that he's thinking it, and he just tries to ditch the thought completely.

"W-What do you think the training will be l-like?" He's pretty content around Connor. It's easier to talk to him than to anyone else, really. Alana and Theo talk too much, Jared's an asshole, and any adult he tries to talk to just gives him this stupid look of pity as he stumbles over his words, but Connor is more of a like soul than anything else.  

"Probably stupid." Now that he's next to Connor, he's really seeing him try to fit in the bus seats...It's not working, and his legs are too long to sit comfortably, up straight, and he just curls up with his knees on the seat, which makes him look even longer, if that's even possible. "I hate school buses."

He thinks of his own school bus. He thinks of the two kids who usually pick him out on the bus. They've never gotten physical, but there have been some...names that Evan doesn't like, thrown his way. "Same," Evan mumbles.

* * *

 

Only four of the ten teams were assigned to go with Evan's group to the Fortan Center that day. That day, September 28th. Coach Strong takes the group briskly through the museum. They don't stop at any exhibits (he gets an awkward elbow-nudge from Connor when they pass Fern, and Evan feels his face heat up a bit) except for one about some hero named Prodigy. He looks kind of familiar, but Evan can't ponder on it more without being left behind from the rest of the group.

"You will be split into two groups." Coach Strong is explaining. There's another person there now, too, a worker with the Fortan Center, who introduced herself as  _Miss Heckle_ or something at the beginning of their "tour", aka walking through the museum without looking at anything. "Group One will stay with me, Group Two will go with Ms. Hecate."

 _Oh, it was Hecate._ Evan felt stupid, but he usually does. So it made no difference. He stands close to his group (mostly Connor, who's next to him at the same time) as the teacher goes over the details of what the groups would be doing. It seems like the same activity to Evan, just in different rooms. It sounds really boring. He squints out the window behind the teachers, trying to see what it was outside. It seemed to be two different sets of simulations, one looking like a broken down city, the other looks like a forest. He hopes that they have to do their activity in the forest, and that maybe he can just hide in the trees the whole time, because trees don't judge people like humans do.

He glances up just as the lights flicker. Normal people would just ignore it, but it makes his heart skip a beat. It probably was just faulty wiring, but at the same time, every little thing made his heart skip a beat because Evan was anxious 25/8 and he was frightened really easily. He tells himself that no, it couldn't be intentional, it was probably just a coincidence, or maybe Jared was trying to mess with him. But Jared's standing in front of him, and he's looking at the teachers, looking like he's absorbing what they're saying, but Evan can tell he's not listening. He looks...focused, on something. 

"You two go with me." Coach Strong points at Evan and Jared's team. The three members of Jared's team show discontent at being paired with the others-- Evan heard something about Connor, a sly comment about Theo, and something mean towards Evan-- but at least that meant Jared could hang back with Evan, if he didn't want to deal with people. "And the other two, Ms. Hecate is in charge of you. Are we good?"

"Yes, sir--"

The power flickers again. Evan sees Jared tense immediately, and Evan knows,  _shit, this isn't good._ If something with the electricity makes the electricity-based whim user physically tense, then it's not going to be good. He's probably leaning a bit  _too_ close to Connor right then, but that doesn't matter, as the power flickers out, and back on, and there's someone new standing in the midst of the room.

This person is tall. They're in a suit- yellow and black, strange combination of colors, but intimidating nonetheless- and they've got blond hair- no it's yellow, dyed an annoying shade of bright yellow- that falls in their dark eyes. They've got a cane, too, and they grin widely. "Just as we were told!"

Coach Strong steps out in front of them. He's not deterred by the sight of the villain at all. "Who the hell are you?"

"Oh, introductions, right!" They're way too chipper. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Sophomore Class of Magnus High School. My name is Electric Vortex! A pleasure to meet you all!" They hum. "Ohohoh, we've got some heroes in our presence, as well!"

 _Heroes?_ Evan glances around.  _Heroes, what do you mean, heroes?_ He knew a lot of teachers at Magnus High were retired- or they just didn't work that much as regulars- heroes, so Coach Strong could be one, but Ms. Hecate, too.

"Never thought I'd be able to meet Ms. Magic-" They look at Ms. Hecate, who is standing in front of the other group, determined to protect them just as much as Coach Strong is to their group. "-- or  _Prodigy_ himself."

What? Coach Strong was Prodigy? Prodigy was a legendary hero, Evan remembers learning somewhere, probably in elementary school when he and Jared went through their hero phase, and learned everything they could. Prodigy was one of the first recognized professional heroes to not have a whim. Which makes no sense, because Coach Strong seemed too fast, too loud, for a whimless person, but surprises come from everywhere, don't they? 

"Big fan, big fan." Electric Vortex says, waving a gloved hand to the side. "But no matter. We were hired to perform, and that's what we must do! Ladies! Gentleman! And other configurations of being! Let the show begin!" They wave their cane, before slamming it into the ground. The room quivers a bit- or is Evan shaking and the room remaining completely still- as two more villains come out of the shadows. They look identical and they both have long dark hair, hooded eyes, and they have pale, nearly translucent skin. Before anyone can react, before anyone can defend themselves, suddenly the two villains stomp their feet on the ground in unison. It feels like a hole opens up beneath Evan, because he's tumbling somewhere, and he doesn't know where. Everything is dark, it's a void that he's just falling through, endlessly, for forever, and it feels like he's truly sinking in anxiety.

He grabs the nearest thing and holds on tight.

* * *

 When the tumbling stops, when the world stops spinning and Evan doesn't feel like he's about to puke (though he threw up in his mouth, and it's not just bile he swallowed back, either, he just hoped those petals didn't belong to any toxic flowers), he manages to open his eyes. He's in one of the abandoned city's alleys, and there are two more people who tumbled through the strange darkness.

Jared's glasses broke when they fell through. Evan had, apparently, grabbed Connor's arm when they fell, and he was still holding onto it. 

"S-Sorry." He lets go, completely ignoring the annoyance from Connor at the apology.

"What the  _hell_!" Jared's yelling. Evan winces at the noise, but it's good Jared's yelling, because that means he's safe and not hurt and didn't hit his head when they fell through. "Were those- did we just- what the  _hell_ happened back there? How did we get here? Where is everyone else?" Jared's yelling is panicking, and Evan reaches out a hand in an attempt to comfort his friend. "God, I can't even see anything. Anyone have an extra pair of glasses?"

"Unfortunately, no." Connor responds. His voice is cold, but there's a bit of shaking in it, too. "And would you stop yelling? We don't know if--"

"Oh,  _we_ don't know if. When did we become a team, anyway? How do I know you're not related to those two girls who got us here in the first place?" Jared's yelling again, but it's directed at Connor. "You're probably just as psycho as the rest of them-"

"Shut the  _fuck_ up, Kleinman." Connor retaliates. "And what the fuck would you know about me, anyway? Yeah, maybe I'm fucking insane, but I'm no villain-"

Evan freezes when he looks out of the alley. There's villains. Everywhere. They look like minor, petty villains. They're dressed similar to a circus (no clowns as of what he could see, thank goodness) and they are wandering around. They're ready to attack and if Connor and Jared don't shut the hell up, these villains are going to find them, and then who knows what the hell is going to happen. "Guys--"

"Yeah, right, as if you don't dress as you just robbed Hot Topic every day!"

"Says the guy who's just a dick to everybody and doesn't have any real friends. And for your information, I don't shop at Hot Topic!"

The villains were getting closer. Evan gulped, turning around and bouncing, on one foot and then the other. He speaks a little louder. " _Guys--_ "

"You're the one who threw a printer in the second grade! You're probably planning on blowing up the whole school--"

"-- _I never threw the printer--_ "

Evan's sick of their fighting. Ignoring any manners he has, he splits the vine that commonly grows on his arm, and uses it to cover the mouths of the arguing boys, before dragging them into one of the abandoned buildings. Both of the boys are too stunned to react to Evan, acting in such a way, that their argument is long gone by the time the vines leave their lips. "So-Sorry, you both wouldn't shu-shut up, a-and there's villains outside and I didn't k-know how to get you both to be q-quiet..." He turns incoherent, he turns into a mumbling, incoherent mess, he knows, but it's better than Connor and Jared yelling their heads off at each other and causing villains to come there way.

Connor flickers out of view for a few minutes. He returns a few moments later, his hair more swept back than before. "Yeah, there's villains out there. Everywhere. We're pretty much surrounded." His voice is lower and quieter, so that no one outside the building can hear them.

" _Shit._ " Jared hisses. "This is like, actually happening, isn't it? What the hell."

"W-What do we d-do?" 

Connor's the one who comes up with a plan, even though it's a hesitant, not too well thought out plan. "Let's just...wait here. Hide. Help should come, right?"

"Right." Jared's sarcasm is showing again, but it's shaky because it can't hide the fear as well as it normally does. Evan sees this, and doesn't point it out. 

The three boys hide in the abandoned building and stay silent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> people can have similar whims and not be related!! electric vortex and jared _aren't_ related at all, just fyi. and their powers differ. while jared can control what's stored in electronics (and what's in his body as well, it'll be explained in future chapters how his whim works), electric vortex can manipulate the electricity in the air easier, which tends to affect electronics as well. he can't control large amounts of power, just enough to mess with people.
> 
> first supervillain of the series!! he's kinda based off the squip from bmc but not at the same time. i just got squip feels from what he looks like. you know? also the two girls are twins, and their whim allows them to control shadows. all the kids were p much shadow-traveled to separate places.
> 
> hmu on [tumblr](http://theotheghostkid.tumblr.com) if you wanna talk!!
> 
> i need to stop writing these at 12:30 in the morning i am going to regret this soon


	8. All the hate that you've heard has turned your spirit to a dove

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No one's calm.

No one's calm about this entire situation, but what else is there to do? Evan could hear far-off fights, probably other students, trying to fight back. Actual  _heroes_ , while he just sits and hides in the corner of a broken down building, that looks like it could collapse at any minute, and does absolutely fucking nothing. It's useless. He's useless. He feels hot tears fall down his cheeks, but he keeps it in his throat, because he's too terrified to make a sound. For once in his life, he's actually  _wanting_ to disappear, and it's for a good reason, for once. Maybe the way the vine has grown down his arm and around his legs as he curls up makes him look dead, or abandoned, and no one would hurt him. The flowers in his hair tell a different story. 

"What do you guys think they want with us?" Jared asks, in a gentle, hushed, tone. His harsh, loud voice is gone, and replaced with a familiar voice (at least, for Evan) that he rarely uses.

Connor shrugs. He's leaning on a broken pillar and he looks...stressed. They're all stressed. Probably not far from breaking down. "We're the  _future_ , or whatever, and maybe they think they can change it if they get us now."

"Maybe." Jared sighs. He fiddles with his broken glasses. One of the lens is missing, and the nose of it is bent at a terrible angle. "I  _just_ got these glasses, damn it. They better pay for my new ones." Only Jared would attempt to make a joke at a time like this--Evan takes that back. Jared  _and_ Theo both would. Theo probably is. But Theo isn't where they are  _(where is everyone else should I be concerned with that we should go find them and make sure they're okay)_ so it's only Jared cracking jokes-- but at least it's a tad bit funny, and it lightens the mood a bit.

Even though they're attacked by actual, real life supervillains and they could possibly die. No scratch that,  _he_ was definitely going to die today. If no one noticed, Evan can't fight to save his life, and the incident with the seniors only proved it. They won by default,  _default_ , because the other, senior team had to be disqualified because of the direct attack on Connor. He would've gotten tied up just like Theo had that not happened, but it did, and that's why they won. His other fights, he mostly stood off to the side, maybe running from other people's attacks or getting out the moment the battle started.

He's still freaking out inside, but his body has... his body's calming down. He's not showing any obvious signs of anxiety, except for the flowers growing around him, and this time, they're sprouting through the cracks in the concrete building and they grow out of wherever Evan decides to rest his hands. Maybe that's better.

"Fuck." 

"No kidding." Jared's got his usual sly grin on, but it's less sly than it usually is. He crosses his arms, leans his mouth into his hands, and murmurs something no one can hear. Evan doesn't even want to press him about it, because they had other things to focus on right now? Like  _surviving_? 

Evan knew what they had to do. They had to get moving. They couldn't just...stay in one place like this, because the villains are nearby and they're probably getting closer by the minute and they can't just  _sit_ there, can they? From the sounds around them, other students are fighting back. Maybe even the heroes. Coach Strong or someone probably called in  _someone_ to help them, right? They couldn't just be stranded here like this, surrounded by villains who wanted to hurt them? And what even was the point of it? Why would villains attack them? Connor might have been right about trying to hurt the youth, the future, but Evan remembers something else-- something Electric Vortex had said, when they first came out of nowhere like they did.

_"Just as we were told!"_

What could that possibly mean? It had to mean that Electric Vortex wasn't the ringleader of this attack like they think they are. There's more of them up on that scale, there's someone higher than Electric Vortex, who was probably just hired as a mercenary more than anything to attack them. 

"Ev?" Jared's looking at him, concerned. "You okay?"

"F-Fine." 100% Fine. Okay, maybe not  _100-percent_ , because in this situation, who could be fine? But he was...objectively speaking, he was fine.

"You were staring off into space there. Got worried."

"Just...thinking?"

Connor's glancing out one of the broken windows. He's pulled his hair back with a hairband, and for a brief moment, he disappears from view. When he returns, he looks even more frazzled. "We need to get moving." He says, without a moment's hesitation. "Like, right now."

They don't have time to ask why, they don't have time to do any of that. They only have time to plan an escape and get the hell out of there, a big priority at the moment. _And survival, too,_ Evan thinks, _surviving to see tomorrow would be nice as well._ He sure as hell isn't going to school tomorrow after this. He follows Connor and Jared as they climb out over the same hole they came into the building from, in the alley where they were dropped off by the shadow twins' whim, and slipped quietly out of the alley. They stuck close and quiet to the buildings, hoping no one would see them. 

There's chaos everywhere, and being quiet isn't that tricky. It's being invisible that's hard, because they're only out there for a few minutes-- they don't know where to go, how to get the hell out, or what to do, except they could see the entrance door above them, and they had to figure out  _how_ to get there-- before villains spot them. It's a large group of them, too, a large group that they definitely couldn't fight off.

But they at least had to  _try._

One of the villains spoke up. Evan can't catch what he's saying, because of his accent and because Evan just didn't really care to listen. This villain definitely looked like...something. He's dressed in a ripped off t-shirt and black pants. His shirt has a skull on it and Evan's pretty sure the villain was just a petty criminal picked up from off the street. In fact, Evan gets a good look at them-- all of them have an assortment of whims, some of them that have mutated their own physical appearance-- and he's definitely certain that they're all from just the streets. Which might be good for them, because they don't know how to fight? Well, maybe they do, but they  _might_ not know how to apply their whim in fighting. Or maybe they do and they're all sick bastards who are going to enjoy beating children to death. They were all only fifteen for God's sake, why would they--

He couldn't get too lost in his thoughts now.  _Anxiety, I-I'll deal with you later_ , he thinks, confident for once. Confident Evan. Confident Evan. Confident Evan-

 

Jared laughs at them. A sudden pit falls in Evan's stomach as Jared says, "Yeah, right, fuckers!" in response. 

 _Jared don't taunt the villains!_ Evan wants to say, but his mouth is clamped shut as the villains- there's five of them, one of them looking like a land shark, another one with long dreadlocks that wrapped around her body in a multitude of colours, the dude with the skull shirt, a fourth of them was small (smaller than Theo) and literally flew through the air, and a slower fifth one that had cement for legs- begin to attack. 

The small one and dreadlocks one lunge for Evan. He yelps, jumping back from the small one (who moved like a bullet, but she had long claws and knives attached to her legs, and he didn't want to get involved with that) and he nearly runs into dreadlocks, who glows purple before...secreting some sort of purple liquid, that steamed on her skin, before she grasped for him.

 _Nope nope nope_ , Evan thinks, trying to get away. The little one's attacking his face, he's got his arms up in defense, and she scratches at his arms before he manages to coil a vine around her and toss her away. He feels bad for a moment, but they attacked him first, and he wasn't just going to sit there and take the attacks from the villains. Before dreadlocks is able to lunge again, cement-legs is thrown into her and they're both knocked to the ground. Connor's hand is covered in cement, and it looks a bit bruised. "Come on, Evan!" He motions, running away.

Evan nods, following him close. They try and avoid as many villains as possible. Evan thinks for a minute, he sees Theo fighting against the villains, but the fighter is too fast for Theo, and the thought slips away. Jared joins Evan at his side once he finally gets rid of the cement-legs who was following him, as he digs out his phone from his pocket and tosses it at the ground, using his whim to make it explode.

Aside from that, Jared couldn't do much in this fight that wouldn't make him sick. Evan knew the extent of Jared's whim, since they'd known each other since before their whims manifested. He could control electronics and things very well, but he could also manipulate the electricity in his nervous system and discharge it. It was really strong, but he couldn't use much of it at once without getting nauseous and sick. "These assholes owe me a new phone." Jared comments, ducking from an explosion as they're running.

Another group of villains tries to corner them. Evan doesn't even hesitate as his vine reaches out and pushes the two villains into each other and knocks them down, so they can continue running, to find something, to go somewhere, to try and escape from the madness surrounding them. It's almost suffocating, they're in the middle of seeing half of their classmates try and fight for their lives and it hurts, it hurts so much to see these kids Evan  _knows_ look so terrified, even if some of them were recognized as rude and mean to him and other people, they didn't deserve to have to fight like they are currently. 

It makes him... it makes him angry _._

Evan hasn't felt this angry in a long time. He was mad at Jared for not keeping up contact in freshman year, sure. He was mad that he wasn't given a choice to apply to stupid Magnus High, a stupid superhero training high school. He was mad that his anxiety made him an awkward kid, he was mad he had a stutter, he was mad at himself a lot but it developed into more of a hate than any kind of destructive force like pure anger like this did.

He's angry at these villains. It's not something he likes to feel often, angry at someone for what they've done. In fact, Evan clearly remembers the last time he was this mad, when he was nine years old, and it was aimed at his dad. For leaving when he was seven, for never being there for Evan, for calling him a messed-up kid the night before he left in that stupid, rusty red truck, to go live with another woman who deserved more than his mom did. He's  _angry_ , but he doesn't know how to direct that energy at the villains to make an impact, so he just fumes as he runs and ducks out of the way of attacks, as they try and find their way around the abandoned buildings.

What is with it and abandoned buildings, anyway? He likes the aesthetic, but not when he's fighting for his life against an army of supervillains trying to  _kill_ him.

"Look, it's Coach Strong!" Jared breaks his thoughts, pointing at a centralized area. It's on the other side of a thick, plexiglass wall, and he can see a fountain and a bit of a courtyard between the abandoned building field and the forest field. He wishes they were in the forest, because he could just hide everyone in the trees until heroes came to help them, and Evan looks at Coach Strong and his heart shatters.

The man is bruised and broken. There are multiple burns across him, and he's trying to take on three-at-once, the shadow twins  _and_ Electric Vortex. He's losing, too, and Ms. Hecate is nowhere to be found, probably in the forest or in the abandoned buildings trying to save the kids and fight for her lives while Coach Strong goes up against these absolute villains, the only three competent ones in this whole orchestra of madness.

There's no door, there's no way that they can see to get through the plexiglass, that's coated with a whim-proof and shatter-proof seal, so they can't break through. They're forced to just watch Coach Strong get beat to death and they have to stand by the whole time.

Connor's gone silent, and he turns around, not wanting to look. He's been pretty silent the whole time, but so has Evan. Jared's the only one who probably has any strength to talk at the moment, and he's able to do the talking for both of them, though at the moment, he's somewhat mumbling about what they should do, where the door out could be, so they could make a break for the steps (or help Coach Strong) and get the hell out of there.

And then in a flash of purple Jared's thrown into a wall. This instance is too fast for either Connor or Evan to react. It cracks behind him as he collides, and pieces of it crumble on top of them. "Jared--" Evan calls out, loudly, probably, and it probably draws attention, but there's another villain on them this time, and she does not look pretty.

No, she looks pretty. She's a pretty girl, Evan admits, but only in her face. Her clothes are barely covering her and she's got tentacles for arms, that are slimy and shiny and gross and purple and Evan wants to gag. 

She giggles. "He wasn't much of a fight. How 'bout you two?"

Connor grimaces- he's angry, Evan knows the Angry Connor™ face too well, and Evan doesn't even want to think about holding him back. "Get to Jared. I'll take care of her."

Evan nods, before rushing off. His stomach is churning, he's glad he didn't eat anything that morning or else it would end up everywhere, though he knows that it's not going to be much longer before his anxiety gets to be too much and he starts to dry-heave somewhere, or worse, actually begins to cough up flowers, a curse with his anxiety and his powers mixed together. The rubble Jared was buried under was easy to move, but Evan had to grow another vine with his other arm, and use it as a boost to his strength to just move it. Jared's curled up underneath all the rubble, a big bruise forming under his eyes. But he's alive, and he's awake, despite his eyes being squeezed shut.

Evan lifts him out. Carefully, because he can see that Jared's leg definitely shouldn't bend that way. Evan looks back at Connor for a moment, who's holding down pretty well, as Evan picks Jared up and grips him tightly.

"Hansen, Jesus Christ, how much do you bench?" Jared comments, trying to make light of the situation, but his leg is definitely broken and he's bruised and something's bleeding somewhere, and Evan isn't in the mood for jokes at the moment. He takes Jared to a corner that's not so chaotic and leans him up against the wall- it's the plexiglass wall, and he can see Coach Strong beaten down and underneath the foot of Electric Vortex. Evan plants his hand down onto the ground before he tries to  _will_ something grow out from underneath the supervillain. A root wraps around the villain's foot on the outside and tangles around his legs, giving Coach a moment to escape and recollect himself.

He turns back to Jared now, looking at the leg. "O-Okay, Jared, d-don't freak out--" He's got to heal it, he's going to heal it, as much as he can with his healing

"Freak out?" Jared laughs. "I've been freaking out this whole time, Evan, thanks for noticing. I don't think anything can-- okay, my glasses might be broken and I can't see shit but  _why_ are your hands glowing?"

He doesn't respond, he only rests his hands on Jared's leg, trying to ignore the wince from Jared, as he feels the warmth leave them. He tries to put all of his energy into this, because Jared could get hurt worse, or even die, from something like this (shock was a thing? he might have a concussion and he can't push that too much. Any other medical terminology he learned second-hand from his mom leapt out the window a while ago). He doesn't notice the way his arms are glowing, covered in a vine-like pattern, or that faint glimmers of light are coming off of the both of them. He focuses and puts all of his energy- using his anxiety as a nice base for it- into fixing Jared.

Evan isn't going to lose one of his best friends.

When his arms stop glowing and he's out of breath, he nearly collapses into Jared's arms. He does feel his friend wrap an arm around him. "Holy fuck, Evan. What the hell. Did you just heal my leg?" He gives it a shake test, and the leg isn't bent anymore, Jared isn't bleeding, the only thing that's wrong is the bruise under his eye that's already turned a disgusting yellow. "You  _did_ heal me."

"I-I-I did." He  _did_ heal Jared. Almost completely. "I've- I can't- I never d-did it like  _that_ before."

Connor's knocked out the tentacle girl, and he's walking over to the two of them. He brushes off his hands, glancing out of the plexiglass. His eyes widen, and Evan cranes his neck around. Other heroes have finally arrived. One of them has pinned Electric Vortex down with a foot. "It's...it's over." Connor says, letting out a sigh of relief. It echoes through the three of them.

_They're saved._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaannnyway I figured out what was not allowing me to update. I have a lot of chapters set up, and the dates were set up wrong. hopefully it should be fixed from now on!!
> 
> fun fact of the day: evan's healing power gets better as his anxiety gets worse. it needs a lot of emotion behind it to work. heidi's works the same way but since she's not a ball of anxiety like evan, she's only managed to heal bad wounds, like, twice in her life. evan can probably do it a lot more. thanks anxiety. 
> 
> hmu on tumblr [@theotheghostkid](theotheghostkid.tumblr.com). please talk to me. also i'm 11 away from 300 followers there t h a n k.
> 
> also lowkey wanna start an askblog based on this au but i'm not sure oh well


	9. Something soft and soaked in pain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happens after-- including meeting someone's mom, and having a friend come over at one in the morning because why the heck not, right?
> 
> (mostly a what-happened-after filler chapter after the last.)  
> (t(bh I like, like, half of this chapter...and that's that but here you guys go!!))

They're waiting for their parents to come pick them up from the center. Of course, Evan's mom can't just leave work just yet- her boss doesn't believe the excuse "my son goes to magnus high and was just attacked by a bunch of supervillains, I need to go get him" much- and he's stuck waiting. He's sitting in the back of a parked ambulance, as they cart away Coach Strong-  _lucky to be alive-_ and a few other students who were injured as well, but still breathing.

Everyone made it out okay. It was all going to be  _okay._ He let out a shaky breath.  _Everyone's okay, everyone's okay, we all made it through, no one died--_

"Evan!" A sharp voice cut through his thoughts. Theo's face comes into view, except it's upside down, and...

"T-Theo, what are y-you doing?" The smaller boy was hanging off the top of the ambulance, upside-down, like a monkey. It was really dangerous, but that never stopped Theo, would it? It wasn't like he would hurt himself.

"Y'know... _hanging_ around..." Theo giggles at his own joke before leaning back up, and flipping himself over and into the back of the ambulance with Evan. His legs are hanging out and he's right next to Evan, grinning widely. There's a new scar that pokes out on his face, right under his cheek, but no attention is drawn to it. "Your parents can't make it here, either?"

"She- My mom- She's w-working, and she can't... She can't get out? She says sh-she'll get here as soon as possible." 

"That sucks." Theo shrugs. "My mom's in traffic right now, so she'll be here soon. At least you're not waiting alone now, huh?" Theo grins, though behind the grin there's something else Evan can see. He's trying to hide the pain, and Evan knows the look too well because it's the look  _he_ gives himself in the mirror every morning when he's getting ready. The shorter boy's grin falls. "That was something."

_No kidding._ Evan's not one to even want to talk about what the hell just happened. He didn't even want to think about how broken Jared looked, how the villains seemed to attack from every corner-- he shuddered thinking about it.

"You doing okay?" Theo asks. For once, it sounds...genuine. Not that Theo has never sounded genuine before, but he's a hard to read person sometimes, and he's really good at hiding some things, or avoiding questions and changing topics quickly. 

Evan shrugs. "It's...I'm still trying to..." He gestures with his arms, trying to find the right words. He stumbles over a few more before Theo nods in understanding.

"I get ya." Theo sighs. "It was...I hadn't been that afraid in a while. They were everywhere. How did they even know we were going to be there?" He lets out another deep sigh, a little more shaky, a little more laboured than before. His thoughts suddenly appear to change, however. "Hey, don't you live just down Oakland Drive?"

Evan's stunned a bit, because how would Theo possibly know that. He nods, however, and asks, "H-How...?"

"I see you sometimes waiting at the bus stop." He explains. "We live across the street from the stop! My mom drives me to school, usually." Evan does have a recollection of Theo being dropped off in a small red car sometimes, in front of the school. There is one day he saw Theo get off a motorcycle with a terrifying looking man, however, but he doesn't want to bring that up. "If your mom can't come get you, I'm sure Majka wouldn't mind--"

"No!" Too loud, Hansen, too loud. "N-No, it's fine, you don't need to drive me home, I don't want to be too much trouble--"

"It's not a problem, Evan." Theo pulls out his phone. "Do you want me to ask my mom, to make sure it's okay with her?" He's already texting her before Evan can stop him. "She doesn't mind."

Evan sighs. There was no way he was going to get out of this, was he? He sends a quick text to his own mom, who's more excited that he's actually talking about friends-  _should he have used the term to describe Theo? Were they friends?-_ than actually getting a ride home so she wouldn't have to drive to the next city over to come and get him. He can see the incoming conversation when they get home and discuss the deep stuff-  _do you want me to schedule another appointment this week? how are you doing, Evan? I'm so sorry this happened, I understand if you want to stay home tomorrow-_ when she actually gets Evan to talk about his...friends. It's just a placeholder term, he's sure that they probably would be more like acquaintances than actually friends, like Jared prefers the term  _family friends_ more than just being friends.

Theo's mom is startlingly different to him when she finally comes around. For one, she's tall. Even in high heels. She's probably about Connor's height with them on. She's got long, dark hair, and she's got dark skin that doesn't fit with Theo's slightly tan complexion. "Majka!" Theo says happily, bounding over to her and giving her a hug. "Oh, this is my friend, Evan!"

_Friend?_ If that's how Theo described them, then he'll use it for him back, right? Or was that too weird? The woman grins at Evan, stretching out a hand. She's got an accent Evan can't place, it sounds kind of like a Russian one, but not quite as harsh. "Ah, it's nice to meet you, Evan! You can call me Tiana."

"N-Nice to meet you, t-too." He shakes the hand quickly, hoping his hands aren't too sweaty or he doesn't look constipated because of his anxiety. 

"You wouldn't believe how excited Theo was to come home one day and talk about his friends." Tiana talks to Evan like she's his friend now, too.  _A friend of my son is a friend of mine's,_ is something his mom used to say when he was younger and actually had people from school come over. But they were never his friends. And Jared was different, more like a son, because their moms were roommates in college and grew close during that time. They're walking over to the car, the red car Evan sees Theo get out of some mornings, while Theo leads in front of them, probably just as excited to leave the place as he was to come. "He has had difficulties in school in the past. Making friends, working in a classroom setting... I'm glad that he's finally got something. So thank you, Evan."

"N-No problem!" He replies, a little too quickly. He wasn't expecting to learn a bit of Theo's Tragic Backstory™ from Theo's own mother, but it was... it was interesting to know a little more about Theo, because Theo didn't talk much about himself. "T-Thank you for, um, taking me home, t-too."

"It is not an issue!" Tiana laughs lightly. She helps Evan open the back door-  _it's been stuck since I got the damn car two years ago,_ she explains. As she gets into the car next to Theo, who grabbed shotgun, she turns to him and says, "Papa and Otec are flying down tomorrow."

"Really?" Theo's excited. "Is there a rea- oh, is it because of this?"

Tiana nods as she starts the car. Evan becomes an invisible spectator of their conversation as he buckles up in the back seat, but he doesn't mind. He's seeing Theo much more relaxed and open than he's ever been before, which is an experience on his own. "Yes, it is. I began talking with my boss, too, about working on this case--"

"Really?" Theo cranes his neck to see Evan in the back seat. "Majka's a lawyer, by the way."

Tiana nods again. She spots Evan in the rearview mirror. "I usually do not take on criminal cases that involve supervillains such as this, but I can't not do it. They hurt my little bear and his friends--"

" _Majjka-_ " Theo whines, blushing a bit.

"I am not sorry! It was a direct attack on you, and the future of the professional heroes. I may not have a whim, but I will gladly fight any of them, given a chance." She sighs, looking in the mirror. "Your class did not deserve for that to happen. For such an attack to occur is  _unlawful_ , and those villains must pay."

What is Evan supposed to say in response to that? What Tiana Benson spoke was the truth, but how was he supposed to agree properly? He tries to think of something cool to say, something Confident and Cool, but what comes out is a meek, "T-thank you..." to which Tiana responds, "You do not need to thank me! Theo, you've picked out sweet friends."

He'd never imagined someone would describe him as  _sweet,_ but okay. Theo laughs. "Oh, you haven't met Connor or Jared yet!"

* * *

 At one in the morning (he should be sleeping but he can't, images from that day keep playing over and over, in his head) Evan gets a text. 

 

 

> **[CONNOR]:** im coming over.
> 
> **[YOU]:** Wait, what?
> 
> **[YOU]:** Why?
> 
> **[YOU]:** Connor, why? It's one in the morning. 
> 
> **[YOU]:** You're not answering my texts so I can only assume you're driving over, sorry.
> 
> **[YOU]:** You don't need to come though I'm fine!!!
> 
> **[CONNOR]:**  we literally just survived a fckin villain attack no ones okay. 
> 
> **[CONNOR]:**  not even theo and he's a weirdass kid.
> 
> **[YOU]:** Okay, just drive safely!!!

Well, Evan certainly wouldn't describe Theo as a  _weirdass kid_ , but that's just Connor for you. He lies back in his bed for a minute, hoping that Connor is driving safely from wherever  _he_ lives, because if a car accident takes him the night after a villain attack couldn't, that would be a sad and cruel twist of fate. Evan didn't even know where that thought came from, and lack of a 

 

 

> **[CONNOR]:** whic hhouse is yours, im on your road
> 
> **[YOU]:** The closest to the street corner? Um, 771.

He climbs out of his bed and slinks very carefully and quietly to the front door. His mom was home and she was usually knocked out when she got home, especially all the emotions that she experienced upon seeing Evan, exhausted physically and emotionally, watching a random movie on netflix on their old TV until she got home. She cried for a while. He did, too, and he wasn't afraid to admit it. Of course he cried a lot, so it wasn't anything new. 

And anyway, he's certain his mom wouldn't mind if she woke up and found some random boy in the house. Well, Connor was Evan's friend (if he wants to be called that) and she'd be elated, but a little worried, that one of his friends came over at one in the morning. She still had work tomorrow, but she managed to get a later shift, so she wouldn't have to go in until 11 am tomorrow. 

Connor's wearing his usual black-jacket and jeans combo when Evan opens the door, but he's also got a terrible bed head and his eyes are slightly red. The taller boy admitted, often, to smoking  _drugs_ sometimes, but he couldn't do it as often as he wanted because it messed with his whim and he'd end up with half his body sunk through the floor. But it's not a drg red-eye, more like an  _I've been crying_ red, which Evan totally understands.

"S-Sorry, it's a bit of a m-mess." Evan says quietly as Connor enters. "We, um, we don't get co-we don't get people over often."

"It's fine." Connor says. "It's a nice house?"

_Nice house?_ Their house was really small. His mom described it more as cozy. Evan nods. "M-My mom's asleep right now, s-so..."

"Sorry." Connor says. He glances to their tiny living room- just a small sofa and television- to the dining room, and the kitchen, and the small hall that leads to the bathroom and the two bedrooms in the house. "Are we just going to hang out here, or...?"

"Oh! Oh, y-yeah. My room." Evan nods nervously, leading Connor that way. To his room. Which wasn't that big of a mess, Evan tried to keep his room s neat as possible, but his bed was rumpled (he was trying to sleep, of course) and his dresser wasn't that tidy. Not to mention the plants. Evan had four plants in his bedroom, which Jared always teased him about. Connor didn't seem to take notice as he stepped into Evan's room.

"...Greener than I expected, Hansen." Connor says with a slight grin.

"Y-Yeah?" Evan laughs lightly. "I, um, don't like  _just_ b-blue, you know."

"Really?" Connor glares, though it's a more playful glare. He sets down his bag- he was carrying a bag the whole time? Evan didn't even notice- before reclining on Evan's bed. "Thought differently, you wear it almost every fucking day."

"Could you maybe  _not_ curse in every single sentence?" Evan asks, taking a seat next to Connor. He feels out of place, because he's just in a large t-shirt and Iron Man pj pants, but it's better than having Connor come to his house and see Evan sleeping in just his underwear (like Jared does and has been since 5th grade), while Connor's actually dressed to go out and do something.

"Fuck no." They both laugh, but not too loud, because Evan knew his mom's room was really close by. "You do have a lot of plants."

Evan blushes, slightly embarrassed. He was hoping Connor wouldn't comment on them. "I, um, yeah. I like plants." He wished he could've said something cooler than that.  _First of all, Connor Murphy, there are only four plants in this room, two of which are just succulents. Second of all, my whim centers around plants, what do you expect?_ But Evan isn't confident, and he finds himself cross-legged on his bed, sitting in silence with Connor Murphy.

They just sit like that. Connor pulls out his phone, the time on it flashes 1:23 AM. He sends out a text, possibly to his mom or something (Evan hopes that Connor told  _someone_ about coming over to his place, but Evan didn't know much about Connor's family). Evan speaks up after a few minutes. "I, I met Theo's mom today."

Connor raises an eyebrow, incredulous. "Oh, really?"

"Y-Yeah. She actually drove me home, and s-she was really nice..." He trails off for a moment. "She, um, she's a lawyer? She's t-trying to take on the c-case that was filed after...today..."

"At least _someone's_ taking this seriously."

"Hmm?"

"Larry. My fucking father?" Connor groans. "He thinks that it wasn't that big of a deal than it actually was. He thinks that I didn't... that  _we didn't_ see our classmates and our teacher thrown around by a horde of supervillains." 

"Oh." Evan doesn't know what else to say. Luckily he doesn't, because Connor continues.

"Like, what the  _hell_ , I'm pretty sure something like that counts as trauma." He leans into the wall, pushing his hands through his hair, trying to keep his voice low and his anger down. Evan rests a hand softly on his shoulder.

_I'm sorry,_ Evan wants to say, because that's all he can say, but he can't say it at the same time, and his mouth is dry and his hands are probably sweaty. He sighs, too, curling up to his knees. "A-Are you going...to school tomorrow?" He asks, hesitant.

Connor shakes his head. "After today? They'll be lucky to see me back  _next week_." He sighs, and looks at Evan for a minute. Like,  _looks_ looks at Evan. They just look at each other, not in an awkward way (though with Evan, everything has just a bit of awkwardness because that's what he is, a walking embodiment of awkwardness, plants and anxiety) but just...look at each other. 

Now that Evan thought about it, he didn't know much about Connor. Like, he knew he had a bad relationship with his family (such as his father?) and he knew that Connor definitely had... not  _issues_ per say, but he knew that Connor suffered, too, like Evan. And that he wore all-black, had language that could make a sailor cry, was really good at fighting, and could become invisible whenever he wanted. Also, he did drugs, but that wasn't a big factor into  _who is Connor Murphy_. 

Evan blinks. "What's your favorite color?" He asks. Connor's taken back a bit, but it's returned with a small, tired smile.

"It's actually...You know the color of black olives?" Evan nods. "It's really specific, but that's mine. What about you?"

"I-I can never decide between green, or blue... So I just say teal, usually." 

"Cool."

"What- what kind of music do you listen to?"

They both lay back on his bed, comfortably fit together on the double bed (but not too close, and Evan feels his bag against the wall, he doesn't want to hog the bed and not give Connor any room. But they both lay back on his bed and talk like that, just...asking stupid questions. Getting to know each other. Connor's favourite band, against Evan's assumptions of something emo like My Chemical Romance, was actually  _Bastille_ , and he liked chocolate ice cream, and that Snape was an ugly character in the books. His favorite film was some french film he'd watched while high one night, and it made no sense to him even when he wasn't high. He wishes that he has the musical talent like his sister Zoe but he can't find any instruments that he thinks would be cool to play. He has long hair and paints his nails to piss off Larry and to piss off society.

Meanwhile, Connor manages to coax things out of Evan. It's not like it's hard to, and Evan feels much more...at peace, if anything, around Connor. Evan tells him a lot, like how  _his_ favourite band was Owl City (though it's just technically one person, and Evan's not admitting the celebrity crush he has on him), and that his favorite ice cream was probably mint ice cream, and that he ate around the chocolate chips. He surprised Connor by saying that he never read any Harry Potter books, but he'd seen one of the movies when he was younger and it scared him out of even trying. He liked the  _Percy Jackson_ series better, though, which Connor hadn't read before. Evan's favorite movie was this one documentary that was probably made just for the sake of filming puppies for the entirety of it.

They talked, and eventually, both drifted off into sleep.

* * *

There wasn't any cliche, waking-up-in-each-other's arms that morning. Evan stirred awake the moment sunlight began to bleed through his curtains, and he found himself face-to-face with Connor, who was knocked out. The pillow that should've been under  _his_ head was, instead, wrapped up in his arms, and he was drooling a bit. Evan was afraid to move to not wake up Connor, because he looked  _peaceful_ and Evan surely knew that Connor  _needed_ the sleep.

His phone was discarded on his nightstand, and he heard his mom moving in the kitchen. Instead of being sensible and getting up, with the threat of accidentally waking Connor up, Evan instead uses his whim to wrap a vine around his phone and carefully carry it over the sleeping boy (who was, by the way, hogging most of the bed  _and_ the covers, this is why Evan never liked sleepovers) and into his arms. 

 

> **[YOU]:** Oh yeah, Mom, sorry I forgot to tell you, but a friend came over last night?

It takes a few minutes for her to reply.

 

> **[MOM]:** Oh, honey, that's fine! I knew I heard another voice in the house last night!
> 
> **[YOU]:** Sorry!
> 
> **[MOM]:** Don't apologize, but don't let this friend of yours leave without letting me meet them, first! 
> 
> **[MOM]:** I've got another two hours before leaving for work. How does pancakes sound?
> 
> **[YOU]:** Fine, Mom. And thanks
> 
>  
> 
> **[MOM]:** Alright, I'm starting them now!

Evan heard the sounds of his mom start getting ingredients together in the kitchen and relaxed a bit. It felt...weird, in a way, to be so relaxed, even after what had happened yesterday, and how he...He didn't want to think about it. He just wanted to enjoy this peaceful moment, before he somehow ended up ruining it again.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> someone stop me from writing 3k+ chapters aaaaa
> 
> Majka is "mom" in Bosnian, bc Theo's mom (who's adoptive btw) was born in Bosnia. it's pronounced kinda like "maika". and yes, Papa and Otec both mean dad. there's also Abba. they're all his dads, but... more about his family later ahahaha
> 
> i'm not gonna lie when I say that I made evan's house in the sims bc I did and it's easier to have a reference to look at when i'm writing haha
> 
> in other news if you guys wanna follow the ask blog i made for this fic it's [@awhimsicalstory](https://awhimsicalstory.tumblr.com/). it's not set up yet and i'm working on some stuff for it but if you guys wanna ask questions to _me_ it'll be fine!! 
> 
> anyway hmu on my regular tumblr [@theotheghostkid](https://theotheghostkid.tumblr.com) because you're all awesome and i wanna talk to you guys


	10. Do you remember when we learned how to fly?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A day with Connor Murphy turns into a day like no other.

Connor wakes up to the smell of pancakes. Evan tries to not find that endearing, because it only takes his door cracked open and his mom's cooking to waft through their small house to cause his eyes to open in a jolt. For a minute he looks confused, but when he sees Evan, he relaxes. The relaxation doesn't prevent him from saying, "Holy shit what's that amazing smell."

Evan stifles a laugh before responding, "Pancakes." 

"Fuck yes." Connor catapults himself out of the bed. He still had his shoes on when he fell asleep, and one of them had been kicked off the other night, while he was somehow missing the sock in the other one. Evan didn't want an explanation for that, and merely went with Connor to the kitchen, where his mom was finishing the last pancake before piling them all up on the plate.

She wore her nurse uniform, and Evan knew she'd have to leave soon. She smiles when she sees the two boys, and says, "Good morning! I hope you don't mind some pancakes." She speaks more specifically to Connor, because she  _knows_ Evan loves her pancakes, especially when she mixes blueberries with them, but they ran out of blueberries the last time they made pancakes and they were too expensive and not in season anymore. 

"They smell amazing, Ms. Hansen." Connor says. It startles Evan to hear Connor actually talk politely to someone, because all he'd ever heard is anger or resentment from the boy, even to the teachers.  _Maybe he just wants to make a good impression?_ It was definitely admirable.

His mom laughs. "No, please, call me Heidi."  She says as she sets the plate down on their small bar. "And you are?"

"Connor Murphy." Connor responds, eyeing the bar. It's set up for two people already, with empty glasses for whatever drink they wanted, and plenty of butter and syrup for their pancake devouring needs.

She leans over to Evan, pressing a quick kiss on his cheek. "Some of the girls offered to carpool me. Don't forget your medication, Ev, and I'll see you tonight."

"S-see you, Mom..." She's out the door before Evan barely manages a goodbye. He turns back and looks at Connor who's...staring. His cheeks flush. "C-Connor?"

"Your mom's nice." He says, shoving a large forkful of pancakes into his mouth. 

"U-uh, yeah? She's, um...yeah." Evan splutters, not sure how to react. "She um, she works a lot, and... she's got n-night school, and... yeah."

"That's cool." Connor laps up the remaining syrup on his plate with his final forkful of pancakes. "Your, um, medications?"

"O-Oh, yeah." Evan tries to quickly explain with as little stuttering as possible that he has to take medication for his anxiety. Because if it wasn't obvious by then he had really,  _really_ bad anxiety, and it was supposed to help stabilize his moods more, but they might have to change his prescription because it hasn't been working as good as it should..."...And yeah. Yeah."

Connor nods. "I see...?"

"S-Sorry." He didn't mean to go on and ramble about all of it. 

"You apologize way too much."

"So-"

"Don't."

"-rry?" Evan finishes in a mumble, but he's smiling despite it. "Ah, uh, you're not going to school today, either, huh?"

"Fuck school."

"C-Connor!" Heidi wasn't around anymore and Evan didn't feel like she'd judge, but it was sudden enough to catch Evan off guard. 

Connor smirks. " _Fuck_ school." He says again, with more passion.

"S-Stop!" Evan's giggling, which is the worst part. "Y-You're terrible, Connor!"

He recoils a bit, but there's still that devious smirk on his face, and he nods, knowing that he's terrible. Evan stop laughing, worried that he might have accidentally hurt Connor's feelings, because what if he did, and what if Connor didn't want to be friends with Evan any more? He feels his anxiety begin to tug at him, but he tries to shake it off. "I'll, um, I can take your p-plate." He says, reaching for it. It was completely clean, even for the syrup, and Evan didn't want to know how Connor had managed to lick the plate clean.

"Oh, thanks." Connor replies as if nothing happened before. He glances at his phone. "Ugh."

"W-What's wrong?" Their dishwasher broke again, and Evan was stuck washing dishes, or as he usually washed them, rinsing them and putting them soapy water to soak until he wanted to deal with it later. Which just added to his pile, which he should clean up, because it made the house look more cluttered and messy--

"Zoe."

Zoe. The name rung a bell. "Y-Your sister?"

Connor nods. "She keeps texting me asking where I am. Apparently they're worried over there, or whatever." He sighs, texting out a quick response, mumbling it under his breath. Evan doesn't catch it, and Connor's already pocketing the phone. "Whatever. What's the plan for today?"

"O-Oh." He hadn't realized Connor was planning on staying for the entire day, too.  _Awkward,_ Evan thinks quickly, but he only shrugs. He wasn't planning on doing...anything, that day, for the matter. He still felt exhausted and sore in places he never expected to be sore in after the day before. Running like that, trying to fight for his life and his friends' lives... He just needed a day off (or a week, for the matter). In all honesty he was planning on just sitting inside watching Netflix and eating ice cream all day, or something. "U-um, whatever, I guess. I mean, I-I didn't have much planned f-for today, anyway..."

"Cool." Connor nods. "I've got an idea."

* * *

Connor has a car. Evan's pretty sure that Connor just barely has his permit, but there's the doubt in Evan and he hopes-- he prays that Connor has a license, at least. Sure they're sophomores, but a few of their grade already have licences and are driving. It's a pretty beat-up car, probably bought used, but there's a swell of pride in Connor as he unlocks it with a swing of his arm and they climb in. He's trusting Connor to be safe.

It's safe, but not too safe. Connor doesn't wear his seatbelt ("T-that's gonna k-kill you one of these d-days..." " _Good_.") and goes a bit above the speed limit. It's not illegal, per say, how far he goes up, but Evan feels his heart rate increase.

He could imagine what Jared would be saying about this.  _You got into a car with Connor Murphy and survived? How the hell did you manage that?_ Something to that extent, at least. Connor doesn't play any music and tries to make small talk with Evan. Apparently the only thing they can bond over- not including the life changing, near-death traumatic experience they had the day before- is  _school._ At least it's something.

"So glad I don't have to see any of their faces today." Connor says as he makes a sharp turn, causing Evan's stomach to lurch and him to hold onto the car door. "Sorry."

"Y-You're fine." Evan says. "So, um, where are- where are we going?"

Connor grins slyly. "There's this store downtown." It's not like Evan can  _willingly_ pry information out of Connor, either. He just tries to take in the drive as calmly as possible, even though the way Connor goes over the speedbump makes his heart leap out of his chest or how whenever Connor made a sharp turn Evan found himself reflexively reaching for the car's door handle, hoping that something would be able to steady him.

Evan's somewhat fond of the town they live in. It's small, sure, but it's also really close to their school, which means that it can be a bit...tourist-y. There are small shops in downtown, and an ice cream place called A' La Mode that Evan hasn't been to in years, and a small little park shrouded in nature-y trees where kids could be found playing on the jungle gym or climbing the trees, despite their parent's protests. And for a early afternoon like this, it sure is a little more crowded than normal. Connor finds a place to park (legally) and stops the car, giving Evan a glance.

"You okay there, Hansen?"

"I'm, I'm fine. Perfect. Woo." Evan's lying.

"You look a little pale. And there's, uh..." Connor motions to where flowers have sprouted out of his hair and the familiar vine has snaked itself around his arm already. Evan tugs at the flowers in his hair-- begonias,  _of course,_ but what are the odds that Connor knows flower language?-- and shoves them into his pockets before nodding and giving his friend a small smile. It was mostly fake, but hey, it was something. "...Okay, anyway."

As they climb out of the car, Connor's talking about where they're going. "It's kind of small and run-down, but it's a nice place to go when you need to..." He hesitates on his words. There's a bit of a cough, a clearing of the throat. "...disappear." There's something that strikes at Evan's heartstrings as Connor quickly tries to change the topic. "It's a cool place to hang out."

Evan's mind is brewing with questions. Usually for Connor Murphy, places he hung out...were weird. In a usually-kinda-bad-way. Like, he'd never been to any of them, but what Connor's dropped and mentioned offhandedly in conversations, usually at lunch when only Evan was listening, he hung out in sketchy places. At least with a whim like his, he could make an easy getaway if something ever happened. It was usually dark back-alleys that were secluded from everything where no one could tell if you were smoking weed or smoking cigarettes, where no one looked at you on your age but on your whim-- a place that certainly sophomores in school definitely did not belong-- and he pulls himself out of his thoughts as Connor is leading him through an alley and to...

A book store. The building itself is a little worn down, possibly from the use of whims around it and the fact it's in a more shady part of downtown, but it stands strong against everything. There's no giant sign or anything in the windows to give it away, there's just...piles of books and shelves of books, from what Evan could see through the window.

"...A book store?" Evan's incredulous. Any anxiety he had before was washed away in a tidal wave of...shock? Disbelief? It certainly wasn't something Evan would feel often, but there t was.

"Yeah. Got a problem with that?"

"N-No! No, it's n-not a problem!"  _Be smooth, Hansen, cool and smooth._ "Ijustdidn'texpectittobeabookstorethat'sallImeanuhit'snotlikeyouusuallyhangoutinbadplaces--"

"Alright, alright. Chill out." Connor interrupts, and Evan is glad, because he feels his cheeks flush with embarrassment. So much for being smooth, right? "And yeah, it's pretty quiet. The owner sells me the weed, so I mean..." He stops when he sees Evan's face, and snickers behind his hand. "I'm kidding. The owner's  _son_ supplies the weed."

Unsure if Connor is still joking or not, Evan lets it slide. Hopefully it's another joke. He trails behind Connor while he goes into the store, opening the door with a flourish and causing a small bell to ring, echoing through the store. It smelled old, and Evan looked around and it was surprising anyone could make it through the place without being bombarded by a wall of books. But the whole place smelled good and warm, and there was an instant feeling of...relaxation, that Evan found, and everywhere there were books, and he glanced at Connor, who looked just as relaxed. 

"You're not against books or anything, are you?" Connor asks as he haphazardly moves around the shelves. He's leading Evan somewhere, but not sure where, Evan blindly follows.

"W-What?" He shakes his head. He loves books, but he doesn't have a lot of room in his room for it. Or room in his house, really, so he just reads books from the library. Freshman year, he ate his lunch in the library mostly, hidden in a pile of books he'd leaf through and devour instead of dealing with the horde of students in the cafeteria. The librarian knew him by the second week and as long as he didn't _look_ like he was eating, he was chill to stay there. "N-No. Why?"

"Just asking. Books are technically dead trees, and I know your whim--" Connor stops as he tries to make his way around a very dangerously stacked pile of books that's definitely taller than him.

"N-No it's, uh, it's different." Technically books are dead trees, but Evan never really saw them as... _that_ , at least. And oh dear, was he getting a reputation around school for being a tree hugger? It was probably Jared who started those rumors, but he shook it off as the two of them finally made it to a small clearing in the books, where a counter sat, along with old leather chairs and a table that was just big enough to hold a coffee machine and many, many boxes of tea.

The man at the counter greets them. He recognizes Connor instantly. "Ah, Connor! Good to see you again!" He's elderly, but the way he moves definitely does not show it. Only the white hair and long, wizard-like white beard does. The man hesitates when he sees Evan. "And you brought someone?"

Connor nods. He rests his elbow on Evan's shoulder, all casually. "Yeah, I actually have _friends_ , Roger. Evan, this is the owner, Roger."

"Connor we have discussed this my name is not Roger--" The man pinches the bridge of his nose before sighing. "Evan, it is a pleasure to meet you. Against what your friend says, my name is actually  _Roland._ " 

Evan nods at him, kind-of awkwardly mute. He wasn't expecting social interaction like this, and he was worried he was going to mess it up on Roland, and didn't want to freak him out. "H-hi." He manages a small wave at the end. He probably looks painfully shy and nervous, and yes he was, but also,  _Anxiety™_.

"I'll let you two boys be. Find me if you need anything, yeah?" Roland nods at them, before returning to his book in his hands, which Evan could see was a very old copy of  _The Picture of Dorian Gray._ He's taken back into the world of the story before either of them could say anything else, and Connor already has Evan wrapped around his finger and dragged through the store.

"S-So, you like to c-come here?" Evan asks as he looks at some of the shelves. Old books, in a language he can't decipher. 

"Yeah." Connor says, leafing through a book. "Found this place sometime eighth grade year? It's quiet and one of the only places my head doesn't want to consistently kill me. The books are always a good distraction." He puts the book back on the shelf, joined with the other books in foreign languages. "It's a nice place to escape from reality for a while."

"That's..." How could he word it?  _Very sweet? Awesome? Cool?_ None of the words had the same effect. God, if only Evan could constantly have one of those little language books on him, like the Spanish-to-English dictionaries, everything would be easier. Except it would be all in English, and help him translate his bad anxiety speech into something normal people could understand. What he manages to get out? "...nice." Worst choice of words ever, but Connor doesn't mind, and takes it with a nod.

"Yeah. Roger's the only one who works here, though he's offered me a job a few times already." Connor adds, as Evan trails behind him as he looks at the books. "Haven't taken his offer, though."

"W-Why not?" He hoped it wasn't too insensitive of a question.

Connor shrugs. "I dunno. Not really looking for one, at the moment?" He trails his hands across the binding of some books, this time in English, luckily. It would be a quiet job away from people, and if Connor knows Roger...Roland so well, why wouldn't he take it? But Evan probably figures there's a lot on his plate at the minute, and doesn't want to push it any more. There's something strange about seeing Connor so...calm like this. It looks like he's the most calm he's been in years. Evan's mind is buzzing, wondering different thing she could probably get away with asking Connor at that moment, things that had been bothering him since they first met, but he didn't want to push it. 

"...You can go look at books, too, Hansen." Connor says with slight annoyance. He probably didn't mean to be annoyed, but Connor was...just like that sometimes, you know? Evan nods and wanders off on his own.

The store is _definitely_ a place he could see himself escaping to. The bookshelves were full of books of all kinds, not just cheesy YA romances Evan read in the library in freshman year because that's all he could find on the shelves near him. At least, most of them were cheesy, some of them were good. There was YA books, but also classic books, and even newer books that looked freshly bought. There were books, books everywhere, and it was a little daunting at  _why the hell does Roland own so many books_ but there could be worse things to have a lot of, right? At least with books, you could disappear from a world entirely for at least a little bit, no matter the subject matter. There was even a section of graphic novels, Evan found, and there were baskets full of comic books that were mostly vintage, but some a bit more modern.

He leafed through them curiously. Jared's birthday was coming up soon, and they were friends-- family friends-- friends and Evan thought he should at least get Jared something. And Jared liked comic books. He probably had most of these comics, though, and Evan decided to move on to something else. 

He was looking at books that were a little more worn for wear, when suddenly Connor popped up behind him. "Boo!" The taller boy jabs at his sides, causing him to jump. And maybe shriek a bit. Maybe. He drops the book he's holding and he turns on his heel to meet his assailant, who's snorting behind him and just  _dying_ of laughter.

"W-What the h-hell, C-Connor!"

"That was  _great_ , oh my god!" Connor manages between laughs. "You should've seen the look on your face!"

Evan glares. It's probably his "puppy-dog glare", as Jared affectionately calls his meanest, maddest look he can muster, but it's something at least. Connor's turned red from laughter and has to lean against a more stable bookshelf to catch his breath. 

"Sorry, but that was amazing." Connor says, crossing his arms and smirking, trying to hold more laughter in. "I can't scare people much like that anymore."

"A-and why  _not_?" Evan asks as he picks up the book he was holding- _The Alchemist_ by Paulo Coelho- and places it back on the shelf. He's mad at Connor, but okay, fine, it was pretty good. It was a pretty good scare, and he got Evan, woo-hoo.

"Everyone's...used to it. Zoe doesn't flinch anymore." There's an unspoken  _and I haven't tried in years, but whatever_ , or something to that extent on the end, and Evan nods in understanding. He never really...scared people, either, because people usually scared him more. "Anyway, you find a book yet?"

Evan shrugs. He was just...browsing, he guesses, because he wasn't too keen on buying a book. He had money but he didn't know what to get, because there were so many choices, and what if he messed up when buying it? Roger-- ROLAND-- seemed like a pretty chill old dude, but still, Evan could mess up and he'd probably end up stuttering, or what if the books cost more than he expected and he didn't have enough? "N-Not yet?"

"Alright. I could be here until it closes, so drag me out when you're done, at least."

"W-wait, when d-does this place c-close?"

Connor shrugs. "Roland runs off coffee and tea, so the store's usually open until about...one?"

"PM?"

Connor shakes his head. "AM."

 _Oh. Oh my._ Evan thinks. "A-are you done?"

Connor shrugs. He's holding a book, but Evan can't get a look at the cover before he's starting to walk off again. "I'll be by the coffee machine. Maybe."

As if Evan knows how to find his way back to that.

* * *

So as it turns out, the store sells books really cheap. Like,  _really_ cheap. Apparently Roland takes donations of books (As the garbage can- labeled as "DONATIONS" in one of the corners of the store suggests), so all of the books are most likely second-hand. Some of them are more torn than others, and it appears to be organized like such, with the less damaged ones in the front, and the more damaged ones in the back. Hardcovers are extremely cheap, and he manages to find two that he really likes before he's ready to leave. 

One of them is  _Frankenstein_ by Mary Shelley. He read it in, what, eighth grade? It brought back memories of simpler times, at least, and it would be nice to own a copy of it himself. Another one was a beat-up copy of a YA book. He'd seen it in the library before when he was a freshman, and he really wanted to read it, but he didn't want to have to deal with how people would react. It was a Cinderella retelling, apparently, called  _Cinder_. He was intrigued but people were going to judge him if he got it and it would've brought attention to Evan Hansen, the boy who can't speak in front of the class without at least one mental break down, the title of "the boy who reads fairy tales" as well, probably. At least that's what his anxiety was telling him and he'd been inclined to agree, and he gave into his anxiety and didn't get it. But now hopefully he could get it without...weird looks, at least.

Connor  _was_ waiting by the coffee machine, sipping on a cup of something while leafing through an entirely different book than what he'd held before. The one he had before was in a bag by his legs, apparently. "Find what you want?" Connor asked.

Evan nods, briefly flashing the books to him. Connor drops what he was reading- some book with a dragon on the cover-and stands up, ready. Evan finds himself standing at the counter, with his two books on it, looking at Roland, who was still deep into the book he was reading at that moment. He didn't want to disturb Roland, should he come back when he wasn't reading? He could probably just get the books later-- before he can go through with any of his anxious thoughts, Connor slams a fist down on the counter, shocking Roland out of the book. "My apologies! My whim tends to...do that to me sometimes. Oopsie!" 

"Roger's whim makes him hyperfocus on stuff. Like, super hyperfocus." Connor explains as Roland rings up Evan's books. Neither of which get any response from either of the two. "I don't know the specifics of it..."

"Ah, yes!" Roland adjusts his glasses. "My whim allows me to hyperfocus on my reading. It's almost as if it takes me to the world inside of the book, but not quite."

It was always interesting to hear about how other people's whims worked. It almost felt as if Evan was seeing the world through a new set of eyes, almost, but not quite. "That's- that's cool." Curse his seven-year-old vocabulary. Curse his inability to speak around other people. But Roland takes it in stride, and takes the money Evan has set aside- exact change for the two books- before putting the two books in a bag. And just like that, Connor and Evan are out the door again.

They spent two hours in that book store.  _Two. Hours._ Evan glances at his phone, looking to see if anyone's texted him. Just his mom, asking how his day's been going.

> **[YOU]** : Fine!! Connor took me to a book store and I got some books!
> 
> **[MOM]** : That's great honey! See you 2nite :)

They're back in Connor's car when the tall boy decides to speak again. He clears his throat nervously. "So, uh, I was looking through the books earlier, and I found one of my favourites." He pulls it out of the bag. It's a worn copy of  _The Odyssey_ , a book Evan's only heard about. It's not the best quality, the pages are looking a little more gold, but it looks like an amazing book. "Here."

"Huh?"

"Hansen. It's a gift. I'm  _giving_ it to you." There's a bit of the annoyance back in his voice. Evan thinks it's because he doesn't understand basic things that most humans do socially, which he wants to apologize for but he's banned from saying those two words around Connor. Plus, you can't blame Evan for not understanding what a gift was. He only usually got a small gift from his mom every year for his birthday, as they fell a bit out of practice of other holidays they could celebrate when his dad left. A random gift, on a random September day? It was definitely strange.

"O-oh!" What was he supposed to say.  _Shit, what should I say? Um..._ "T-thank you?" He didn't want to refuse a gift because that's  _rude_ , right? So he just takes it but feels bad about Connor not getting a book. As the car starts up, Evan decides to ask a question, praying Confident Evan would follow through for once. "H-Have you ever read Frankenstein?" 

It was...better than Evan anticipated. Minimal stuttering. Not totally 100% confident, but it was the best he'd managed so far and he was proud of himself. "No, don't think so. Why-"

Maybe it wasn't the best idea to shove the copy of Frankenstein Evan  _just bought_ into Connor's hands (well, lap, technically, both hands were on the steering wheel because he was, obviously,  _driving_ ) but he didn't have any other idea on how to make it look cool. He manages to get out, "Okaythenhere'sacopyIhopeyouenjoyit!"

Connor's shocked, and if he wasn't driving at the moment, he definitely would've taken the time to pick up the book and look at it, but he was driving, and it was a bad time, and Evan found the words forming on his mouth  _I'm sorry-_

"Uh, thanks? I'll, uh, look at it when we stop." Connor says, trying to remain focused on the road.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm!! not!! dead!! woo!!! and honestly??? first date goals-- going to a bookstore and getting your date your favorite book without telling each other? love it. would love to do it one day. (i'm single.)
> 
> hope you enjoy this chapter it's 4k words of fluff and pining (though neither boy knows it yet)
> 
> sorry for like...not understanding how prescriptions with anxiety medicine works either. I tried to keep it more general, because evan probably didn't wanna bother connor with the boring details either
> 
> also sorry for like, not updating more usually, I................ i may have bought dream daddy.............................o o p s. also latin class and getting ready for school because I go back _tomorrow_ and work and!!! a lot has been happening my friends. 
> 
> anyway this is the perfect time to start and promo an ask blog right??? hahaha [@awhimsicalstory](https://awhimsicalstory.tumblr.com/) you can ask everyone (including me) questions and stuff!! just need to finish some things (and get the courage to do it hnng) and it'll be up and running!
> 
> and hmu on tumblr [@theotheghostkid](http://theotheghostkid.co.vu/) because..........i love you guys please talk to me there too


	11. We both found that we could still breathe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A continuation to Evan and Connor's day, this time: including Jared. Also, their next day back at school isn't too simple. But it's okay.

Evan was nervous. The lunch he had earlier really wanted to come up, but he was too nervous to even find his way to the bathroom and possibly dry heave into the toiler for a couple of hours instead of wanting to do what he was about to do. 

He was in trouble. Jared had texted him an hour ago saying he'd be over in a bit. And Evan was going to have to explain why the hell he'd hidden,  _oh yeah, I can heal, too, my whim isn't_ just  _plants_ from his friend of his entire life. There was really no reason for him to hide it, either, because it's not like he expected his healing to be as powerful as it was the day before, when he healed almost all of Jared's injuries. He didn't expect it to be strengthened by his anxiety, either, or at least he thinks that's what happened despite him being anxious twenty-four seven, three hundred and sixty five days of the week.

"You don't owe him anything." Connor does have a point, because Jared only began to sit with them when Alana began sitting with them and even then, Jared doesn't talk to Evan much as it is. Maybe rants about class or classmates or just something stupid, but Jared never let Evan do that. There was also the entirety of freshman year where Jared was at Magnus High alone and cut off almost all contact with Evan completely.

"I-I...I h-hid it from him." Evan tries to explain. His voice is shaking and he is shaking and he's trying to steady himself but it's not working. Nothing he ever learned from his therapist helped anyway. "A-And I don't u-understand it much, e-either but, I h-have to e-explain why I... I have t-to explain...." He didn't know what he had to explain but he had to explain why he hid it from Jared. 

"Alright." Connor nods. "If that asshole says anything, give me the word and I'll fu-" 

"C-Connor, no, that's n-not necessary." Evan laughs. It's nervous, but the attempt at humour made him feel less tense.

For like a minute.

And then the door opened. 

Evan tries to hide his surprise that Jared still has the key to his house. They'd given each other their house keys in seventh grade, more or less prompted by their parents than by their own consciences. Jared looks like he tumbled out of bed just an hour ago, which is probably what had happened despite it being close to two in the afternoon. He takes a look at Evan, and then spots Connor.

Connor glares back.

"I'm not even going to  _question_ why he's here." Jared says, pointing at Connor, who scowls in return. 

"Likewise." Connor's taken up the entire loveseat by then, leaving Jared no choice but to squeeze by the television and take a seat next to Evan on the old couch. The entire time, Connor's glaring daggers directly at Jared.

Jared sits, trying to ignore Connor's death glare, and turns to Evan. He's waiting for an explanation. But where does Evan even begin with it? He tries and thinks it through.  _So I can heal people. Sorry I kept it a secret from you. I wish I knew how to say this. I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry-_ his thoughts are becoming deafening and oh, yay, he feels tears starting to pour into his eyes. The guilt is definitely burying him and suffocating.

"S-Sorry." Evan manages to get out. Hey, it's  _something_ , at least.

Jared nods. "It's... god, dude, I don't know why you had to keep something like that from me. You know?" Evan's glad Jared takes over the talking, at least. He's silent for a moment, which isn't really characteristic for Jared. "...You saved my life, you know."

Evan nods. He doesn't feel like he saved Jared's life, but he can see why it could be seen that way.

"When I got to the hospital, they said I'd had some internal bleeding." Jared continues. "Emphasis on  _had._ You... you stopped it. With that healing whim of yours." There's something gentle about the way Jared says it, it's not his usual, asshole-y tone, the tone that's more confident and proud of who he is, instead it's a tone that's softer and calmer, and it's the same tone Evan recognizes as the tone he had when the two of them were just superhero-obsessed kids. Jared sighs, and turns away. "You don't have to explain anything to me, really. I understand if you don't want to. I've been a bit of an asshole to you, too, I guess." 

Evan exchanges a glance with Connor, who's watching them intensely, his hands gripping the copy of the book Evan bought him (well, not really, but it's just really at the same time) and back to Jared. He steels a breath before beginning to speak. "I... It's usually n-not  _that_ s-strong. My h-healing. L-Like my mom's. But..." He didn't know how to explain it to Jared. "...I was worried you were going to die. And I didn't want to l-let you die-" His voice cracks, and Evan rubs at his eyes to get rid of the tears, but he was afraid. He's still afraid, day in and day out, and he can still feel whispers of the fear from just yesterday.

"And he didn't." Connor's voice broke through the whispers. He's sitting up, more attentive, but still keeping his distance. 

Evan nods, and looks back to Jared. "I- I'm sorry--" He's cut off by Jared wrapping his arms around him and enveloping him in a big hug. It's a bit sweaty because of Evan, but it's calming and it reminds Evan of the good old times. Jared lets go after a few moments, and stands up and stretches. 

"I gotta get going. Ma' wanted me to go get some groceries, anyway." And there was the cocky, asshole known as Jared Kleinman everyone knew too well. "I'll let you get back to making out or whatever--"

"Jared!" Evan's face flushes instantly.

"-- See you losers at school tomorrow!" And like that, Jared was gone.

Connor lets out a curt laugh, almost incredulous. "Well, that's one way to say goodbye."

Evan shrugs. It's Jared, they shouldn't expect less.

* * *

Unfortunately they had to go back to school at some point. Evan was dreading the Monday they went back, but it's not like he had any choice. His mom figures the Monday after  _the_ _Incident™_ , as everyone refers to it, is a perfect time to go back to school. And he knows he's going to have to go back eventually, but he figured Tuesday would've been a better day. Tuesday, most definitely, because Mondays are a bad day to go back to school after missing stuff, because people would notice if you came back on a Monday. No one would notice anything on Tuesday. But his protests died down and he found himself on the bus, yet again, on his way to school. 

The other students on the bus don't bother him. He hears a few whispers,  _I think that kid was involved in the attack the other day. Do you think he fought_ actual  _villains? I'm surprised_ he's  _back at school,_ and Evan shoves his earbuds into his ear as deep as they'll go, he plays his music as loud as he can, and tries to ignore the world around him. He didn't want to have to people at all, he'd prefer being back at his home where it was safe, but it's not like he had any choice. He tries to blend into the background as much as possible.

That's how he tries to pass most of the day. In the background, barely. People might wave to him, and some kid came up to him and asked about yesterday. He ignored any of the questions the kid kept badgering him with. The freshman huffed in anger and stomped away when Evan kept ignoring him. 

He didn't want to talk about it, let alone think about it. Some of his other classmates, the same who were on the trip, were getting the same treatment by some of the freshmen and some upperclassmen, but the upperclassmen kept out of the way. Especially the seniors, the seniors who had been on internships with professional heroes and who had seen what villains were really like, not just mock villains in mock fights or on the television fighting the famous heroes that everyone knows.

Everyone was present at lunch, at the very least, and Alana is just as positive as usual. "It's going to be nice to try and get back into a schedule, huh?" It appears that she, too, hadn't been at school since the incident. Which makes since because no one in their class was required to be back at school for the rest of the week after the incident. 

"I guess." Jared's digging through Evan's lunch like a wild raccoon. He pulls out a bag of fritos and immediately rips it open. Theo leans over and tries to swipe a few. "Didn't wanna come back to school at all, though. Theo-- come on, dude."

Theo sticks his tongue out as he swipes a few more fritos. He's already stolen some fruit from Alana, and he's unstoppable in that effort. But since he usually brings food to split with everyone (and tries to shove it down Evan and Connor's throats), everyone deals with it.

"Coach is still out in the hospital recovering from his injuries." Alana informs the table. "We have a free period for all of us then, so I suggest--"

" _Holy shit!"_ Jared's looking at his phone again, like he usually does at lunch time when Alana tries to be the leader for their team. Evan knows he feels a little left out of it, but has taken more pride to the 'honorary member' title bestowed upon him by Theo and Alana. Everyone jumps, and Evan pulls at the leaves that sprout in his hair almost instinctively. "Sorry, but the author of the My Immortal fanfic just put an update on her profile?"

"What?" Connor leans over the table. "Show me!" 

It makes sense, Evan ponders, as he watches Connor and Jared actually interact with less tension than they usually do.

"Oh you'd be into that kind of stuff, huh, Connor?"

"Shut the fuck up, I was _twelve_."

"Um." Theo leans over Jared's shoulder. "What's...'My Immortal'?"

Jared and Connor exchange a knowing look. Evan's already planning his escape from this mess, and by the way Alana looks, too, it seems as if she's read his mind. Which she probably has, just to figure out what was going on.  _Never look it up,_ Evan thinks at her, wondering if she can hear it over all the other conflicting thoughts he has in his head over everything about life. A painful memory of Jared reading it aloud to him at every sleepover in middle school comes back to him. He's not sure if he wants to puke or burst into an ugly-cry laughter.

Probably the first one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi sorry for a late update!!!!! my dudes, school started for me and it just... everything got away from me. i had to get used to a new schedule. hopefully now I can learn how to juggle my hobbies (writing for example) with my school work (which is a bunch more writing). but school's actually been fun for once and i'm excited!!
> 
> i hope you enjoyed this quick little chapter.
> 
> also [go check it out if you don't know what my immortal is please _don't_ look it up. keep your eyes clean of that.](https://www.fictionpress.com/u/518933/XXXblodyblaktearz666XXX)
> 
> follow my tumblr [@theotheghostkid](http://theotheghostkid.tumblr.com) or follow the tumblr for this story [@awhimsicalstory](http://awhimsicalstory.tumblr.com) and talk to me bc I crave attention and i love all of you guys


	12. Well life will pass me by if I don't open up my eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> His phone goes off, the Saturday before Test Week (marked on his calendar in big, bold letters), with a text from Connor. (It's still the terrible contact name that Jared gave him a couple of weeks ago, as a prank. It's a meme and he's just been to lazy to fix it.)
> 
> [COVFEFE]: get dressed
> 
> [YOU]: Um, what?  
> [YOU]: Why???
> 
> [COVFEFE]: we r gonna get ice cream
> 
> ((or: the obligatory ice cream date, but it's not a date because they're not gay, right? also, a new teacher enters the scene that no one likes. how is he even here.))

The written exam is easy.

Easy-peasy lemon-squeezy, as his mom would say. 

The actual, physical exam?

The physical test, the mission that they're given?

 _That's_ what's hard. That's what has Evan stressed the most. Because it's not like you can study for this exam. It's not like you even know what the exam is. It changes randomly each year, and by the time there's a chance of repetition anyone who had that first exam before had already graduated. All you can do with this is hope you're ready enough for everything they can throw at you. 

Evan hopes he's ready enough. He knows that the rest of his team is ready. Alana was practically born for the role. She's the strongest out of the team, and the leader of all of them (it was a dead giveaway she'd win, even when she had them vote on it). She was bound to pass, if only one of them could. Theo was pretty ready, but nothing really hurts him so he's pretty ready for anything. Connor probably is close to Evan, but he's more used to his powers and he knows how to fight with them.

And Evan is just...Evan. He feels like dead weight, pulling the team back on everything. He knew it'd be better if he wasn't on the team. He knew they all probably felt the same way. But there was also Confident Evan feeling like he was actually a part of something, even if he usually had a small role of being behind everyone. Someone had to make sure they weren't attacked from behind, right?

His phone goes off, the Saturday before  **Test Week** (marked on his calendar in big, bold letters), startling him out of his existential state. It's a text from Connor. (It's still the terrible contact name that Jared gave him a couple of weeks ago, as a prank. It's a meme and he's just been to lazy to fix it.)

 

> **[COVFEFE]:** get dressed
> 
> **[YOU]:** Um, what?  
>  **[YOU]:** Why???
> 
> ****[COVFEFE]:****  we r gonna get ice cream  
>  ****[COVFEFE]** :** everyones too stressed right now and i cant take being at home so  
>  ******[COVFEFE]**** :** were gonna get ice cream
> 
> **[YOU]:** Yeah, okay, I'll get ready.
> 
> ******[COVFEFE]**** :** be ready in 5, im on my way over

_Shit,_ Evan thinks. His house is a bit of a mess (he's been busy studying he can't clean) and he feels terrible, and he hasn't done laundry in a week, but he pulls out a shirt-- actually, one of his nicer ones, one he doesn't usually wear, a button-up with a black-and-white leaf pattern fabric. It's really the only clean thing he has, and he just pulls on a random pair of dark jeans and the closest pair of sneakers. He's brushing his teeth when he hears a knock on the front door.

Spitting out the gross toothpaste-spit, Evan wipes his mouth off on a towel before giving up on fixing what remained of his appearance and opening the door.

Connor's waiting for him. He's in his usual black-jacket, black-jeans, Hot Topic style of clothes, but Evan notices that his nails were freshly painted, and his hair is actually pulled into a neat little bun. It's strange not seeing it in his face for once, and Evan has to blink a few times to make sure he  _wasn't_ dreaming.

"What the fuck are you looking at?"

"N-Nothing!" Evan averts his eyes. They walk outside. Fall has finally come, and the trees are beginning to change magnificent colours. It's also getting chillier, which Evan loves, though he will miss the green of the trees around them. "S-So, um, ice cream?"

"Yep." Connor swings his keys in his hands. Evan's not too sure of Connor driving around sometimes. Neither of them have died yet, so that was good, at least. He clicks at it and hops into the car, Evan following.

They've done these...things about every weekend. Almost. Well, it wasn't a "date", Evan supposed, but it was pretty close to a date. A platonic date? Yeah, it was one of those. Where you just get with a friend and hang out. Like friends do. Sometimes they'd go to the bookstore again, other times they'd hang out at Evan's house because Connor can't stand his own family most of the time. Evan's met Zoe and she seems fine, but he trusts Connor and respects that he probably doesn't want Evan over. They would just be together, in each other's presence, which was enough even if they were just reclined on the couch watching terrible Netflix documentaries or reading books they'd recently got.

It was nice. It was nice to have a friend to just be quiet with. Jared was loud whenever they hung out. It was loud and they played video games or watched crappy movies and he'd laugh about it. But with Connor it was quiet, or at the very least, compared to Jared.

"My dad won't shut up about the exam." Connor initiates conversation, like he usually does. Which lately has been ranting more about his dad than anything else. "' _You best be prepared, Connor'_ ,  _'don't let anything distract you, Connor', 'pass that exam, Connor'_. I'm so fucking tired of it."

 _I'm sorry_ , Evan thinks. He knows it's best to let Connor get it all out before saying anything.

"And you know what? There hasn't been any stress on Zoe, either." A pause. "Granted, she's still a freshman, but I was still being treated the same way last year, too, by that asshole." He groans, his grip tightens on the wheel. "It just fucking sucks."

Evan understands. He knows what it feels like to be treated like...that. Somewhat. It wasn't his father who said those things, but the voice in his head that always beat him down. The car pulls into a parking lot, and Evan rests his hand on Connor's arm for a moment.

"I'm sorry y-your dad pressures you l-like that." He says. "It's not-not fair t-that he's so o-on your back. I think you're going to do great. A-And pass, d-definitely." Evan adds a little squeeze, maybe to emphasize his words, to bring a little more comfort. "You're definitely going to pass." That last sentence was definitely a win for Confident Evan.

"Thanks, Hansen." Connor smiles at him. It's a bit less sly than his usual grins, a bit more genuine. "Ready for some A La Mode?"

"S-Sure?"

* * *

 It's the best damn ice cream Evan ever had. They had mint chocolate chip ice cream there, but they also had just plain mint ice cream. Which Evan found a little weird, but it was also amazing, because he usually eats around the chips. Connor got something that was known as a Chocolate Lover's Cup, which was a cup of ice cream with Double Chocolate Chip and Chocolate Fudge ice cream in it.

"H-How is that not g-giving you a headache?" Evan asks. They're sitting outside in a nearby park. Kids are running around, playing tag and heroes and villains and laughing. Too much chocolate always gave him a headache.

Connor glances down at his ice cream. He shrugs. "It's not enough chocolate."

"It's literally t-the Chocolate Lover's Cup." Evan points his spoon accusingly at Connor. "T-too much chocolate."

Connor puts another spoonful in his mouth, not breaking eye contact with Evan. After a few moments, both break down into laughter. This was nice. It was a nice distraction from the stress of the exam...No, Evan didn't want to think about that right now. He tried to push it back. He wanted to enjoy time with Connor. Sitting in a park, watching the little kids play heroes and villains with their whims, a simple time, a simple life. It was...nice. 

Evan watches two of the 'heroes' "stumble" across a villain. They screech in delight, causing the 'villain' to jump. They began chasing after the villain around the swingset, until one of the kids used their whims- a very weak flying whim- to vault themselves closer to the villain.  _Tag! You're caught now, villain!_

He remembers playing those games when he was younger, and when everything was much easier. How he longed every day to go back to the days where the stress of school and the stress of family and his anxiety wasn't weighing down on him like a mountain on his chest. He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts.

"What's up?" Connor asks. There's concern heavy in his eyes, even if his eyes are hidden by the mop of long, brown hair.

"Uh." Evan had to think of something, quick. He thought back to the day before. "D-Did I tell you my therapist h-has me doing s-something stupid? W-Well, it's not so much stupid as i-it's weird, not stupid. But weird."

"Go on."

"Dr. Sherman w-wants me to write letters. T-To myself. To 'boost my confidence', o-or whatever." Evan shrugs. "M-My mom likes the idea, and I have t-to write one before m-my next appointment. But I don't know how! Like, I know- I know  _how_ to write letters, I don't know how to write letters to myself, so that's really weird and awkward. And. Yeah."

"That is a bit fucking weird." Connor says, once Evan's stopped his stammering and his long-winded story. "I'm shitty at giving advice, but maybe pretend it's like a journal, or something? I had to write in one for the longest time when I was younger."

" _Had_ to?"

"I saw someone, too, after the... 'printer accident'." Bringing it up seems to give Connor painful memories, as he grimaces his face and his eyes turn away. "it was only a couple of months, but the shrink said to write everything about my day in it. Eventually my shitty doodles covering most of the pages and terrible handwriting ended that." Connor pauses. "Oh, and Larry pulled me out of it."

 _I'm sorry_ , Evan said mentally, because Connor doesn't like it when he says that because he says it so much. So he just says it mentally, because Connor can't hear him. 

"I still have the journal from second grade. It's full of shitty drawings and old poems. God, it's cringey."

"I- I don't think it's  _that_ bad." Sure he hasn't seen it, but he has seen scribbles Connor leaves in the margins of his notes. And they're pretty good, even for scribbles. Except that one time he found that very detailed drawing of one of their math teachers as a hyper-realistic dick. But that's something _else_ to worry about.

"Don't you have, like, writing from second grade or something in the corner of your closet that you're too embarrassed to read because it's  _that_ cringey?" At Evan's confused face, Connor laughs. "Oh my god."

"I- I have notebooks from second grade!" Evan says defensively. "But- um..."

"But  _what_ , Hansen?"

"They're..." _Make it sound cool, Evan. Make it sound like you were a cool kid._  "I had a lot of freetimeandnofriendssoIjustwroteaboutplantfactsinthenotebooksfromthebooksIwasreading."

Connor doesn't even flinch or laugh from what Evan says, but his mouth does break into a small grin. "Of course, tree facts."

"S-Shut up." Evan replies. 

* * *

Wednesday is the Exam.  _The_ Exam. Capital-letter importance Exam. The entire sophomore class is on edge, a lot more behaved than normal (and that's a stretch, for a lot of the classmates Evan knows of and knows well). Most of the teachers know what the sophomores have on Wednesday, and are letting them slide by a little easier than perhaps, the freshmen or juniors. Which, Evan was thankful for, because he could easily slip away into the bathroom with just locking eyes with a teacher and pointing to the door before he would have a meltdown.

 _In, out. In, out._ Breathing tricks kept the panic attacks at bay for the day. At night they sucked, but at least he wouldn't have to deal with them during the school day, right?

Well, there was  _one_ teacher. One teacher, the Whim History teacher, who decided that the week of the Exam (and the next two consecutive weeks) was the perfect time to take the week off and get married and have a honeymoon. Evan was happy for Mr. Jones and his husband. But the class got stuck with... Mr. Baldarelli.

Mr. Baldarelli was famous with the seniors, who had him as their Whim History teachers in their sophomore years. The name itself struck fear in them, the high-and-mighty, hero-interned senior class of Magnus High. They'd faced down petty villains with weapons in their past few months but the name send them away with terrified glances and sweat beading down their foreheads. Whispers through the halls told everyone that Mr. Baldarelli was merciless, was a teacher who had no standards, would possibly assign work during the Exam, even though all sophomores are counted as excused from any work on that Wednesday, he was cruel and vile and should've been a supervillain.

His whim had something to do with radiation, which explained the burn scars that covered half of his face. He was built strong and tall, and the really only defining feature of him was the tawny suit he wore was those scars that disfigured the half of his face, and all the way around his bald head. He wore glasses over these scars, and apparently, didn't feel a thing.

He stands at the front of the classroom as every student enters. Evan immediately feels his stomach drop upon looking at him, and quickly stole his seat next to Connor and hides behind the taller boy to avoid the steely grey gaze of their substitute teacher. More students file in, and even Jared halts upon seeing their substitute teacher. 

 _That's_ how powerful Mr. Baldarelli was.

He clears his throat as everyone quietly takes their seats. His voice is raspy but rough. "My name is John Baldarelli. You may call me, sir, or Mr. Baldarelli. Not 'John', or 'Mr. B'. I am subbing in for your teacher as he goes on his wedding and honeymoon for the next few weeks." He looks at all the students. "You  _may_ have heard of me. I have heard students whispering about me in the halls, I'm not as deaf in this ear as I look. And I will tell you, I'm much worse than that." He pulls out a clipboard. "If I pronounce your name wrong, tell me, if not, just say 'Here' and nothing else. Got it?"

Silence. It's almost as if crickets begin to chirp in the classroom for comedic effect.

"I didn't hear you."

"Yes, sir." A few brave students (including Connor and his Major Disrespect For Authority) manage to say.

"...We'll work on it." He begins going through the roll. 

Evan feels his stomach flip, do a 360, and spin around faster than a cyclone. His thoughts are worse, and jumbled, and he tries to keep them clear so he doesn't miss his name, but it's tricky and hard. Not even fidgeting with the sleeves of his jacket, which are beginning to be torn to shreds with the amount of stress he's under from the stupid exams, aren't enough to quell the rising tide in him. He's trying to ignore it as a vine snakes his way across his arm, as flowers begin to sprout from his hair--

"Evan. Evan Hansen." Mr. Baldarelli says, and Evan catches it.

He raises his hand, timidly.

"Evan Hansen." Mr. Baldarelli glances around the room, before resting his glare on Evan. "Are you Evan Hansen?"

He nods. He's too scared to open his mouth, because there's more than just no voice to him. He doesn't want to swallow the flower petals, it's not healthy, and he hopes he can just keep them there--

"Speak, boy." Mr. Baldarelli says. "I don't have enough time for this."

He covers his mouth with his shaking hand. "Y-Yes, sir..." He manages through a mouthful of flowers. It sounds like he has a mouthful of food.

"Are you eating something? I will not stand anyone eating in this class-" he turns to address the class- "-because you teenagers have already had lunch beforehand. So if you have food, I suggest putting it away before I take it." He turns back to Evan, targeting him. Apparently, Evan's good target practice. And a good example, for everyone else. All he has to do is open his hand and motion for Evan to hand over the food he has.

"Evan doesn't have any food on him." Connor Murphy interjects. "He's got severe anxiety and he's super stressed, and what you're doing right now isn't helping much."

"Pardon me, but I am the teacher in the classroom--"

"A  _substitute_ teacher, who's seemingly going after one of my friends. He's here, mark it down on the roll and  _let him be._ "

"-- I will not stand for this insubordination." Mr. Baldarelli says. He pulls out his roll, and marks things down on a separate sheet of paper. "Connor Murphy, I've heard of you. Both you and Evan are getting a detention today for this. You've distracted my class too much--"

"Hey, leave Evan out of this--"

"--Keep talking, and I'll have the both of you sent _straight_ to the principal's office."

His heart drops. Evan feels everything drop around him, and it feels like the class has gone so silent that a pin drop could be heard from the next classroom over. He's tried so hard to keep his school record perfect, because if there's one blemish on it then he's not going to be able to get enough scholarships to even  _consider_ college as an option for him in the future-- He swallows the flower petals,  _fuck it_ , and tries to fight back the tears forming. 

Connor's more hotheaded of the two of them, so he says, "Do it to me, just leave him out of it--"

* * *

"Shit, Evan, I'm so sorry." Connor and Evan had to stop at the bathroom on the way to the principal's office. He's leaning on the outside of the stall door, and Evan can see he's twitchy with anxiety of his own by the way his feet are twitching/ "I didn't-  _fuck_ m I'm such a fuckup I couldn't even- I'm sorry, you shouldn't have to come. It was my big fucking mouth that got us here."

"It's- I'm fine." Evan's breakfast has gone down the toilet, along with a rainbow of flower petals and stems that tend to grow on him and even in his _mouth_ , and he's pretty sure he's cried enough tears to power a city with hydropower. He's dried up, numb, and overall...empty. Literally and physically. "It's- if I could've answered him  _p-properly--"_

"He shouldn't have attacked you just like that. He was such a fucking prick." Connor sighs. "Wanna ditch?"

"C-Connor!"

"Hey, it's what I would do." He lowers his voice. "You okay in there?"

"Y-yeah." Evan stands up, wobbling a bit. There's a bit of petal wedged between his teeth, but only he can see it and feel it. He unlocks the stall door. Connor looks terrible. Evan looks even worse.

When they finally get to the principal's office, she's waiting for them. Obviously concerned, of course. But Connor takes over the talking, and Evan thinks that he's much better than him at that. Oddly enough, Connor's staying pretty calm, though there's anger behind his eyes. The principal listens to their story and sighs. "What class did you come from, again?"

"Mr. Baldarelli- the Whim History class he's subbing for."

The principal stares into the distance and grimaces. "Baldarelli. Thought I'd seen the last of him three years ago. Didn't expect him to be working as a sub." She sighs. "You're both off the hook, you're not in trouble. I'll have a talk with him myself." She looks at Connor, then at Evan. "Thank you boys, and I'm sorry for how he made you feel, Evan."

"You don't- you don't have to a-apologize for him."

"Yes, I do." The principal says. "He won't do it himself, even if I threaten him to."

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> unfortunately it's not the end of may or early june. it's october. expect a special halloween story/ one shot out of this. but it's not october yet in the real world, you say to me.
> 
> it's always october. 
> 
> anyway thanks for reading the same date literally everyone writes. and welcome mr. baldarelli, who is going to be coming back in future chapters, too. anyone else have a teacher that made you cry? i sure did. thnx anxiety.
> 
> follow me on tumblr [@theotheghostkid](http://theotheghostkid.co.vu/) and talk to me. this fic might not update as often as it should but my tumblr _definitely_ does.
> 
>  
> 
> see you next time...  
> .....  
> .... : )


	13. Can nobody hear me?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He knew something was wrong when his communicator in his ear went out. The only thing that kept him in contact with the other members of his team was severed. But why, he didn't know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bit of a warning: giant timeskip from last chapter. it's exam time. i thought i'd put another chapter or two beforehand but. i didn't. but enjoy. : )
> 
> MAJOR UPDATE AS WELL BELOW!! :D

It was too quiet. 

Evan pressed his hand up to his ear. "G-guys?" He regrets suggesting to split up to find the hostage and the villain (Coach Strong said they would be in an obvious place, but it wasn't obvious enough), and he regrets going alone. He missed Alana's not-quietness, Theo's weirdness and Connor. The fact that he didn't even hear the static that told him that everyone else's were still  _on_ made him panic even more.

"H-Hey. Guys?" He tries again. "Connor? Alana? Theo?"

Still, no response. What could be going on?

He wanders around the small city. It's a simulated city, built up for Magnus High's training and exams. It reminds him of a city he went to, when he was younger, with his parents, for a vacation to the beach.  _When things were happy--_ He pushes that away quickly, as he peers around a corner to make sure nothing is going to attack him.

The villain could be wandering and attacking, he remembers Coach Strong saying. It's meant to simulate an actual heroic mission. Save the hostage, beat the villain. Theo had taken the rope that Coach Strong gave them, that they were supposed to catch the villain in. They also got a hint to  _who_ the villain was-- the hero and teacher at Magnus High, Nightwave, who could control dark waves of energy. Not very heroic, but they were popular as a hero, and as a teacher, and he was happy to pretend to be a villain.

The hostage was supposed to be rescued as well. They were a random senior picked out from the class. Evan wondered, for a moment, if it would be any of the seniors he knew. Well, not entirely knew. He wasn't very social, and only talked inside his own little group-- his team, plus Jared. But who he'd seen in the hall, who'd tried to talk to him and didn't get much of a response. Or one of the three from the sparring tournament a few weeks into the school year.

 _Oh god I hope not_ , Evan thinks, remembering the  _thing_ that happened with Connor. And how he'd healed Connor in the dark locker room as both of them just sat there together in their sorrow and pain, but it was better to be there alone, right?

He pulls himself out of his head.  _Evan Hansen, you're supposed to be in a mission. A mock mission. It's your exam. Stop that._ He puts his hand up to his ear, pressing the button in his communicator. "Hello?"

There's a bit of static as a response. He thinks he hears someone scream, but it gets cut quickly.  _The hell?_ He glances around nervously, listening for any kind of screaming. Any kind of noise. The city is quiet, and the sun is directly overhead. Was it a simulated sun, or was it the real sun? He couldn't tell. 

He glances at the watch. They're given two hours to complete this part of the exam, and half an hour has already passed. Half an hour of debating on how to go about the mission, half an hour of deciding to split up to cover ground. It sounds like the plot of some strange, superhero-based horror movie. The static and the scream made it feel like one, too.

He turns another corner, and runs into someone. Almost. Connor skids to a halt before they collide, and glances around. "Oh thank fucking god you're okay."

"What?" Evan feels  _very_ out of the loop. "W-What's wrong-- hey!" He cries out as Connor grabs him by the wrist and starts to run in the direction Evan just came from. "Connor, what are you doing?!"

Connor doesn't respond, and keeps running with Evan behind him. He ducks into an alley, bringing Evan with him. He's panting, but he hold Evan close-  _what the hell why is Connor hugging me-_ before Evan feels a chill wrap around his body, and Connor shushing him. Evan realizes what's happening, Connor's turning him invisible, but why? And he didn't know Connor could  _do_ that?

Did they already find the villain? The villain wasn't supposed to be strong-- Nightwave wasn't supposed to use the full extent of his powers, because he's against weak little sophomores, not villains who use their whims to their advantage on a daily basis-- so  _why was Connor running?_

He gets his answer quickly, though, as a woman who Evan definitely doesn't recognize walks by the alley and pauses. She's got long black hair, that pools around her body, probably cutting off a bit below her shoulder blades. She's pale, not Connor-pale but freakishly pale, and her eyes are sunken in. She wears a white dress and boots. Her white dress exposes her back down to the end of her spine. He swears he thinks he sees strings coming out of her back- reflections of light, like how spiderwebs work- but they're gone in a blink of an eye.

He feels Connor's heartbeat, and he  _knows_ that Connor can feel his. If it weren't for the fact that there was a  _mysterious woman walking down the alley they were hiding in_ , Evan definitely would be blushing.

"Hm..." The woman coos, crossing her arms. Her black boots click on the pavement. "I'm sure I'll find you soon, Connor. Until then, tehehe~" She turns on her heel and walks away.

* * *

Evan's mind is buzzing with questions, but his anxiety is making everything foggy and he can't think straight. All he can do-- all he's really  _allowed_ to do-- is hold onto Connor, stay quiet and invisible, until the woman goes away. They stay like that for a few moments. Leaning against the building holding each other, invisible and out of sight. It's a cold feeling, Evan realizes, being invisible with Connor. He didn't even know Connor could turn other things invisible.

The cold feeling washes away, and Connor lets his grip loosen. Evan let go, taking a few steps back, and resisting the urge to yell, asked calmly, "What just happened?"

Though with his nerves, it came out as a, "Whatjusthappened?!"  _Damn it._ "Sorry."

"A villain." 

"I thought- I thought we were f-fighting Nightwave. Who-"

"She called herself Marionette." Connor replies, in a quiet, hushed tone. "Right after we split up, I ran into Theo again. She ambushed us. Her whim- god I don't fucking know what it does- she managed to get ahold of Theo. He's..." Connor's voice dies in his throat for a minute. "He's a puppet, now, I think. To her."

 _What._ "Oh god. T-this has to be, like, something the teachers o-organized, right? They wouldn't l-let an a-actual v-villain fight us, w-would they?" Evan begins to stutter, and he begins to pace, and he begins to panic. He was stressed about this exam already, but now there's an actual threat, and it's September 28th all over again, and the villains are attacking his classmates, and then Jared is bleeding, and--

"Evan! Hey, Evan!" Connor's grasping him by the arms, and Evan hasn't realized it, but he's crying again, and it's embarrassing because he hates crying in front of people, but it's better than the alternatives. "We're going to get through this. The teachers are going to realize what's going on, and they're going to come for us. We just have to hide and wait, alright?"

 _Hide and wait._ That's what they tried to do, on September 28th, when the villains attacked their field trip at the Fortan Center _,_ but there were too many villains and not enough hiding spots, so they had to fight back. Evan nods, knowing what Connor is saying is what they should do, and what is rational, but the anxiety is still bubbling up inside of him. "W-What about Alana?" He asks, rubbing his eyes, hoping that he can wipe his tears and snot on his Official Magnus High training track suit. It's gross but it's all he has, and the long sleeves really are preventing vines from snaking across his body, providing a little extra comfort.

Connor shrugs. "She wasn't with Theo and I when we were attacked."

"She's- her whim l-lets her read minds. C-Can't we just, you know, s-send out a message?" He freezes. "Sorry, it's a stupid idea, I know, I was just thinking--"

"We can try." Connor says.

They both go silent.  _Alana,_ Evan thinks, projecting his thoughts loud (though he can't change the volume in his head, he hopes that thinking it's loud projects it enough) _listen to what Connor says. We're in trouble._ He's hoping that Connor is explaining everything in his thoughts. 

"Now what?" Evan asks.

"I don't fucking know." Connor sighs. "We hide and we run. And we wait for the shitty teachers to get to us." There's an understood  _hopefully_ at the end, that Evan knew he wanted to add, but didn't. Evan nods, leaning back into the brick of the alleyway.

He kind of hopes that the teachers come soon. Shouldn't they be able to? If Evan remembered which way the door was that they took to get in, he would be running for it instantly, but he's all twisted and turned around in the maze that is the city, and even if he could find his way back. it would be the obvious place to get ambushed at again, and then he would have to fight a villain again. The last one he fought was terrible, and he didn't want to think about it. How was he supposed to be a hero when whenever he runs into a villain, it sends him into a terrible panic mode that just doesn't stop.

 _I need some time to think_ , he thinks to himself. He feels like he's on a boat that's sinking and he's close to drowning. He can't stop it he can't stop it _he_ can't  _stop_ it-- Connor suddenly sits next to him, leaning into his shoulder, providing a tether from his panic, and Evan gratefully grasps the sleeves of Connor's matching tracksuit to try and not freak out too much.

"There you guys are!" Alana's voice rings through the alley. "I got the message you sent out. We're facing an  _actual_ villain?"

"Yup." Connor says in response. He doesn't move, he probably can't move, because Evan is cling to him too much, but he's kind of probably having a breakdown at the moment? and he needs it. "We just need to hide out and wait for the teachers to come, right?"

"I suppose that's the best idea. What happened to Theo?" Alana asks, worry strong in her voice. 

"The villain's...whim..." Connor trails off. He's standing again, and he's brought Evan with him, and he's standing in front of Evan, protecting him. "Damn it."

Evan's finally drifting back from whatever kind of panic-state he was in, and he's realized it, to.  _No, not Alana,_ he thinks, looking at his friend and team leader. He can see a bit of string, wrapped around her wrists, and he looks into her eyes. Her  _grey_ eyes, which shouldn't be grey, because her eyes are supposed to be a warm chestnut brown that reminds Evan of autumn and friendly smiles. He wants to hide behind Connor further, and Connor's pushing him back, but  _no what about you I can't let her take you too-_

"Ah, thank you, Alana." Marionette, the villain lady, walks around the corner. Alana nods, going mute. "You led me back to my lost puppet, and one more!" She laughs. It's a light airy laugh, that reminds Evan of his mother at first, but it's hollow and cold and sends shivers down his spine and it makes him sick. "There's no escaping, boys."

"Fuck you." Connor spits, before grabbing Evan by the arms again, gripping tightly and running for the wall.

 _Straight_ for the wall. Evan can't even blink before he feels another cold feeling, much more tingly than the last, spread through his bones. It's what a cold soda would feel like, that is, if you had it in your blood instead. Or it could be what feeling high in the winter is like. Evan closes his eyes as he expects the wall to hit. 

He doesn't hit it, in fact, he goes straight through the wall with Connor. He didn't think that Connor could take people with him intangibly, and by Connor's reaction when they get through the wall, and are still running for the next, he didn't expect that either. Though he does look a little more tired than he should be, by the looks of it. It probably takes more out of him than what it would be if it was just  _him._

_See Evan, you're just a burden, you should've l e t  g o and let Connor go-_

"Fuck." Connor's got them through another wall, but he isn't looking good. "Fuuck."

"A-are you okay?"

"No." Connor breathes out a little too laboured. "But we have to keep going." He's pale, and he's covered in a thin layer of sweat. He also looks... high. Which is, to say, Evan has seen Connor high before. He's come to school high a few times. But Connor also isn't able to afford weed as much as he  _wants_ , but that's not what Evan should be focusing on, they're literally running from a villain and he's thinking about Connor being high--

"We have to find the exit." Connor says, knees shaking. 

"S-slow down. W-we're not going to make it  _anywhere_ i-if you're li-like that."

"Are you just gonna leave me behind and feed me to the sharks, then?" Connor accuses.

"N-No! I would never! I- I'm just... I was just trying to say..." Evan isn't able to finish, because he spots Theo and Alana and Marionette out of the corner of his eye, walking towards them. Evan can see it clearer now- he can see the strings coming off of Alana and Theo, attached to the villain as some kind of puppet master. They flicker-- they're thin, like spiderwebs, but once you can see a bit of it, you can guess where the rest is. He wonders, for a moment, what would happen if they cut those strings. They're attached to Marionette and his friends. And now his friends are being controlled by Marionette. An idea comes to mind. "W-We have to c-cut them free."

"Cut them free?" Connor asks. "Please explain, quickly."

 _I can do quickly_ , Evan thinks, an unusual confidence filling him. And he speaks fast, no hesitation needed. "Think about it. If you cut the strings off a puppet, can you use it any more? I think if we cut the strings, we might be able to get them out from under her control, at least for a few minutes so that hopefully the teachers will notice, and they can come get us, right?"

"I guess." Connor says. "You have anything sharp on you?"

They're not allowed to bring weapons to school, despite whims being considered weapons in some territories. He shakes his head. Nothing sharp to cut the strings. They knew what to do but how to do it was the question.

Marionette walks closer now. "I'll give it to you. Both of you are smart boys." She giggles, her smile is a dagger, and Evan wishes that it would just go away, but he knows that her voice and her smile is going to haunt his dreams for a while now. "Perfect puppets for me~"

The strings lash out. They're flying through the air, almost like the silly string incident in seventh grade with Jared, but this stuff is like spider webs and much more dangerous--

"Evan, look out!" 

He's pushed to the ground, watching in horror as Connor is grabbed. 

"Connor!"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **HEY GUYS MAJOR UPDATE:**
> 
> this is chapter 13/15. no, the series isn't just gonna die out. the sequel is in the works. there's a bunch of reasons, but i feel like having it be shorter makes it seem more like an actual comic book. more like a complete story. i don't wanna have 100s of chapters in one story, so it'll end at 15. but this is only VOLUME ONE, oh yeah it's gonna go DOWN.
> 
> alternatively, you could see this as one arc of the story. the beginning arc. however you see it. but chapter 13/15. get ready. 
> 
> **END MAJOR UPDATE, GO ON WITH THE REST OF THE NOTE**
> 
>  
> 
> this is the chapter I had written in july ahead of everything else.
> 
> let that sink in.
> 
>  _july_.
> 
> that is all. anyway.
> 
> innnntroducing marionette!!!
> 
> she's this villain I had planned just as an oc but she fits in this universe so let's do it!
> 
> her whim allows her to extend strings from her body and control people with them like puppets. but she can only control certain kinds of people, depending on who they are. people with severe anxiety, for example, can't be controlled easily. people w/o whims can't be controlled either, which is why it doesn't work on evan. also, when the strings are cut off someone, she has to wait, like, an hour before she can actually grab them back. 
> 
> i know everyone else has their own kind of mental illnesses in the group (i hc a lot for everyone (and canon a lot for theo //cries//)) and one kind is never worse than the other!! evan being exempt is only for story purposes. for ~plot!~.
> 
> "why couldn't connor get away?!? he can turn invisible!!" not everyone has perfect reflexes, jan. also he had been running from the beginning, and that can tire you out. and he's figured out _holy shit i can make people invisible_ with _me_ which makes him sick doing it too much and he wanted to save his boyfriend :')))
> 
> lol i thought this would be shorter
> 
>  
> 
> follow me on tumblr [@theotheghostkid](http://theotheghostkid.co.vu/) if you wanna talk to me or just watch me reblog a bunch of random stuff. you do you, my friends.


	14. I'll be your ghost, your game, your stadium

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evan's alone.
> 
>  
> 
> The villain is there.
> 
>  
> 
> She's smiling.
> 
>  
> 
> He coughs, pulls out a flower-- an Amaryllis flower.
> 
>  
> 
>  _Good luck,_ the universe is telling him.
> 
> ((warning- could be considered a little violent. rip evan))

Evan's alone.

The villain is there.

She's smiling.

He coughs, pulls out a flower-- an Amaryllis flower.

 _Good luck,_ the universe is telling him.

Marionette cocks her head. The strings are coming out from her arms-- almost too thin to see, but they reflect light, and they remind Evan of the spider webs of the senior girl Charlotte's hair, and he can see them out of the corner of his eye as they wrap themselves around his friends. Alana. Theo. 

Connor.

His heart feels a jab at seeing all of his friends taken by this villain, but moreso Connor. But any thoughts on why--  _why am I feeling this way towards him--_ are pushed aside. 

"Is that your name?" Marionette grins, showing off all her teeth. It seems almost not-human. "Evan?" He flinches at the way the woman pronounces his name. It's not different, but it feels like venom in his veins. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Evan. I am Marionette, as you know." She bows, and his friends mimic her perfectly, seconds later, like a puppet mimicking its master.

Their eyes have no energy. They don't have control of their bodies.

This wasn't supposed to happen during their exam. Coach Strong wasn't anywhere, no teachers had stepped in to stop the villain yet. He wants to yell out. He wants to scream. But his throat is shut tight and he's panicking inside but it can't show on the outside, because his friends are in trouble  _who else is going to help_.

Strings fly out to Evan, and he yelps, ducking away from them. They chase him, and the usual comforting vine around his arm shoots out, ripping apart the long sleeves o his track suit. He didn't like the damn thing anyway. The vine grows thorns suddenly, wrapping around the string and cutting at it. 

Did Evan know what he was doing? No. He just hoped that it would all work out in the end.

More strings attack him. They're shot out from Marionette's skin, they snake through the air like fireworks, and they grasp for him. He can't react fast enough, and he's prepared for a full-on panic attack, or losing consciousness, when all that happens is that the strings wrap around him and flop, motionless around his skin. He yelps, clawing to get them off, waiting for it to take him, but it never does. 

"Can't get you that way, then." Marionette tells herself, reeling back. As do any of the strings. 

Is he somehow immune? Evan searches his brain for something that makes him stand out from the rest of his group, as he dodges an attack from Marionette again. He's just a normal kid, with a whim that allows him to control plants and heal. He's got a dual-whim, but so does Connor. So does Alana. Nothing about that stands out. It could be a mix of the flowers that grow around him, but there are other, stronger whims that should be immune. Theo was nearly indestructible, but he was the first taken. What makes Evan stand out--

_That's it._

"M-My anxiety." Evan says, looking at the villain. "T-that's what's k-keeping me safe?"  _Are you shitting me right now? The thing that makes my life terrible is actually saving it for once?_

"I suppose so," Marionette purrs. "But just because you're immune to my attacks doesn't mean you're not immune to attacks from your friends~"

There's a bad feeling that Evan gets, deep in the pit of his stomach, and it crawls up and consumes him as all of his friends rush towards him. 

 _Oh god no not like this please no-_ he prays to every god imaginable, despite the fact he's Jewish, that he won't have to fight his friends. That he won't have to hurt them. But no godly power intervenes, no divine power answers his prayers, and he's one person against three people. One of them telekinetic _and_ telepathic, another one pretty much indestructible, and a third that could go intangible and invisible at will.

Honestly, it's the three _worst_ powers to be going up against when your friends are being mind-controlled by an evil villain when they  should be taking an exam for a stupid school. 

Evan decides right then that he won't, under any circumstances, fight back. He won't. He can't. He can't imagine hurting Alana with thorns or vines or flowers clawing around her, he can't imagine even being able to hurt Theo to begin with, and his heart can't fathom hurting Connor, even just hurting them with words.

So he has to cut their strings. Snip them from the control of the puppet master, Marionette herself. He's not going to hurt anyone. 

"I'm not going to hurt them." He says aloud, to tell himself, to  _tell_ himself, to not hurt anyone. 

Okay maybe he'd hurt Marionette a bit, if he could. But he needed to get his friends away from her control first. Unlike the cliche movies, trying to talk it out isn't going to work, trying to get his friends to remember who they are only works in video games (or maybe some whims are like that, Evan doesn't know).

"But they're going to hurt you~" Marionette says. She's taken a ledge to sit on, her legs crossed and just. Watching. 

Evan watches as a trash can flies his way surrounded by purple energy. His head snaps to Alana, whose grey eyes are emotionless and unmoving. Theo charges for Evan, and Evan tries to duck out of the way, but he runs into Connor.  _Connor._ Seeing his eyes the same dull grey as the others tugs a chord on Evan's heart, the blue eyes with the fleck of brown in the one of them, why would Marionette do something like this, he wants to hurt her but he can't--

"Look out, Evan~" She calls out. He gets a trashcan to the chest, and he's flown back into a wall. He hears something crack, but it's not any of his bones, which feel solid in his body. "Ouch, that hurt, didn't it?"

 _F-fuck you._ Great, now his thoughts are beginning to stutter. Well, maybe he's in a stressful situation at the moment, but there's a part of him that's going  _why can't you be cooler, dude??_ and it's a bit degrading but it's not his main focus as he feels himself get picked up by nothing-- he assumes its Connor-- and thrown back to the ground. He definitely feels a crack then, and he holds his hand to his nose. Oh, fun, blood. He rubs the blood off on his pants and stands up, trying to not inhale it through his mouth. Connor's flickered visible again, and Even realizes that even though Marionette is controlling his friends, they still have their usual limitations to them.

But how is he supposed to be able to cut the strings off these people if they keep attacking him? He tries to think of a getaway, scanning his surroundings so he's not surrounded by his mind controlled friends, and he spots a path through them. Without hesitation he bolts for it. He runs past Connor, sliding to the left from Theo and finally around Alana, where he's on the other side of the three of them and not surrounded any more. 

All he had to do now was cut the strings. He wrapped a vine around his arm again, easier now that his jumpsuit was ripped from the shoulder down. He had to do the thorns again, but how? He couldn't remember, and hoped for the best. After coiling it up for a few minutes, he shot it out, straight at Connor.

"Finally, some action!" He hears Marionette say in the background. She's not realizing what he's trying to do, is he? He's glad that the villain is the oblivious one for the minute, though that charade is going to be shattered momentarily.

His vine manages to grow one thorn off Evan's command, and it shoots above Connor's head and whips at the strings connecting them. It cuts the string easily, and Connor's free. Free for a moment, then he's free-falling to the ground, probably pushed too far and too out of it to understand what's going on.

"Hey, what the hell!" Marionette jumps down from her ledge. She's got more string coiling around her in rage, coming out from her revealed back. "I guess I underestimated you, Evan." She stretches out her arm. "Go and get him, my little puppets." Alana and Theo nod, before charging at Evan together, perfectly in sync.

Which is weird for him because Theo is too out of it to ever be in sync with anyone to begin with. Alana surrounds a piece of broken concrete with her telekinetic energy, ready to chuck it at Evan. Theo charges at Evan, ignoring the fact that he's got, like, twenty more wounds on him-- not from Evan, probably from fighting-- that haven't healed up yet. It looks quite painful. He didn't expect them to get so close, but he recoils his vine and snaps it out again, this time,  _two_ thorns growing on it.

(A voice whispers in the back of his mind at that moment, _wow Evan, how impressing. You've got_ two  _thorns now._ )

It cuts through the air, cutting through both Alana's and Theo's strings. The slab of concrete lands on the ground, too close to Evan for comfort, and Theo halts to a stop before collapsing, and Alana follows suit.

"The hell?!" Marionette screeches. "That's it, I'm done with you." She reaches into her dress, grabbing a knife that was wrapped around her leg (with her own string, weird) before brandishing it for Evan to see.

 _Knife to meet yo_ _u, too._ A bad thought echoes through his head. It sounds a tad bit like Theo's voice, the one he makes whenever he says a pun, but it's not.  _But shit. Shit shit shit._ He looks for the nearest thing that can protect him, and he stumbles over to Theo's body, which still has the rope around his belt. He hopes that the rope actually does what it's supposed to do, stopping someone's whim, and readies himself to charge at Marionette.  She swings the blade towards Evam, and it slashes his arm open, the one that the sleeve had been ripped off of, the one that was covered with scratches and bumps and his vines.

He instinctively takes a few steps back. He's feeling overwhelmed again, and it can't happen in battle. It shouldn't happen in battle. _Maybe a tree_ , he thinks, knowing very damn well that it is physically possible for him. He can grow trees in an instant, not as fast as his father did when he first discovered his whim, but he can grow trees if he wishes. But it takes a lot out of him. He was just done with this villain, done with the day, done with everything--

Marionette lunges. Evan puts his arms up in defense, and the vine shoots out, wrapping around one of her wrists, the one holding the knife, and stops her attack, but her momentum nearly sends her flying into Evan. He steadies her quickly, but she's switched hands and is cutting at the vine. It sends shivers down his spine (it's almost as if he can  _feel_ it sawing away at his own arm, but it's not his arm, it's just a vine attached to his arm, somewhere). 

**clunk.**

Evan watches as Marionette tumbles to the ground, knocked out. Behind her is Theo, holding a piece of broken building (it's just a piece of wood, actually), panting and exhausted. The scratches on his face were already healed up, but he still looked sick and out of it. Evan releases the vine wrapped around the villain's wrist, looking up to his friend in awe.

Theo holds a hand over his mouth. "Oh god, I really need to puke." 

"A-Are y-you--"

Theo nods, before ducking into the closest trash can (the one that Alana had tossed at him) and puking. Evan winces at the sound, before leaning down and nudging Marionette with his foot. She's still out, but there's no knowing how long she  _will_ be out, so he grabs the rope he's been holding and ties it around her arms, making sure it's tight-- probably a little too tight-- before sitting her up.

* * *

 

Theo promptly collapses again after puking up whatever he had in his body. He's awake, unlike Connor and Alana, who both dropped like flies when their strings were cut. Evan helps Theo lean against the wall, away from the villain, who was muttering and awake again, complaining  _I can't believe I got beat by a kid. A kid! What the hell is wrong with me?_ to herself. He ignores it in favor of helping his friend.

"God, is this what a hangover feels like?" Theo asks, resting a hand on their head. Evan's working on getting Connor and Alana propped up next to him as well, but Connor's so long and so limb-y that he nearly trips over the taller boy's legs. Twice. "I'm feeling _pain_ for once. Ouch. I'm never going to drink. In my life."

 _Why are you the only one awake?_ Evan wants to ask, but keeps silent. He's just lucky to have survived that thing, though panic is bubbling up in him again, leftover from what he probably had during the fight. The battle. With an actual villain. There's a small burst of pride in his chest, that he defeated an  _actual_ villain, on his own, not with Connor, not with Jared, like on the field trip. He beat her on his own and he's, like, a hero or something now, right? But that's flushed away with the panic of,  _oh my god that was an actual villain I was alone and I had to fight my friends and they were attacking me--_

"Ugh." Theo's voice drags him out of his thoughts. He's pulling up his shirt a bit, and there's a bit of a gaping wound on his side, bleeding still. "How long did I have this? Did that chick actually  _stab_ me?" He pokes at it. The fact that he's never bothered by wounds or pain-- especially when it's Theo, the nicest kid Evan probably has  _ever_ met-- sends chills down Evan's spine. But everyone has their quirks, right? 

"D-Do you need any h-help?" Evan flinches. "Sorry, I know y-you can heal yourself--"

"It's fine." He sits back up. The headache appears to be what's killing him the most, and Evan can't heal that well. "You know what? Go ahead, it might speed up the process."

Evan nods. Alana's leaning against the wall next to Connor now. They're both peacefully out of it, and it's definitely the quietest that Evan has ever seen Alana. The calmest that he's ever seen Connor, with the long hair fallen into his face as he takes deep breaths, blissfully unaware of the world around him. There was supposed to be a protocol, Evan knows, if someone's knocked unconscious for more than a few moments or something to that extent, but none of them are bleeding or in immediate danger, so Evan just had to leave them for now.

He sits next to Theo pulling up the smaller boy's shirt. The wound isn't that bad looking. It's not even that deep, and it's just covered in a lot of blood. "W-Why hasn't it h-healed yet?"

Theo shrugs. "Usually if I have more wounds, or other pain-" He winces, rubbing at his head. "-my powers are focused on that. Or if I have a head injury. Or headache." Theo doesn't even flinch as Evan rubs his hands together, putting them over the wound directly and hoping that it at least speeds up the process, because the only time Evan actually healed something really good was at the tournament, and that was when Connor nearly got killed by one of the seniors for mouthing off to him. Evan removed his hands.

The wound was still there, and there were two handprints in his side now. Not from blood, but from lack-of-blood. While the wound was still open, it wasn't bleeding anymore. So hopefully that was good?

"What are we going to do?" Theo asks as Evan rubs his hands off on his pants.

"What?"

"You're, like, the only one who can  _think_ right now." He points his thumb at the two others, still knocked out. Or asleep. Hopefully asleep, because being knocked out for so long isn't good. "I'm only awake because of my whim right now, probably, but my head is killing me. Are we going to try and find the exit?"

He's the only one fit to lead. Sure, he's bleeding from a cut on his arm (that will definitely scar), and emotionally, he's all over the place, but he's the only one who could lead them right now. "I guess we should head for the exit." Evan says. "B-but we can't leave them behind."

Theo nods. "I'll stay with them." He says. "You go to the door, find the teachers. Explain what the heck just happened. Hopefully they're aware of something going wrong." 

Evan's off to find the door quickly. He's exhausted from that fight, and he wraps a piece of vine around the cut on his arm to get it to stop bleeding, or at least soak up the blood.

* * *

The reaction that he gets when he finally finds the door he came through, and opens it, is something Evan probably wouldn't ever forget. The room reminds him of a waiting room at a hospital, but there are screens and computers on one side of the wall, showing footage from different parts of the simulation field. Half of the cameras are blacked out, a couple of them are flickering, and Coach Strong is screaming.

"Their time is  _nearly_ up. Where the hell are they? Why can't you get this damn machine to work?" Coach strong is screaming at the computer, and at the two people next to him. One of them is the hero Undercover, that was judging the exams with him. There's a third person, a student, too.

The third person he didn't recognize immediately upon walking in speaks up. "Something's interfering with the signal, sir." It's Jared, and he's never been happier to hear that condescending asshole of a best friend's voice. 

"Your whim is good with this stuff, can't you fix it?"

Evan isn't sure how he should proceed upon getting their attention. He clears his throat, causing all three heads to turn.

"Evan!" Jared calls out, dropping the keyboard he was holding and standing up. He's rushing to his side, and the next thing he knows, he's caught in a bear-hug from Jared. The squeezing makes his ribs hurt a bit, and Evan thinks that he might be a little more injured than he thought. "Thank God you're okay." He gets punched in the arm. "What the  _hell_ , dude?"

Evan opens his mouth to speak, but no words come out. He stands there like a gaping fish for a minute before the tears start to pour out of his eyes, and he's just a boy again, a boy who's realized his dad is gone, and who realized that he could have lost even more that day. He could have lost the few people that actually talked to him out of a family relationship, he could have lost the smart, kind Alana, or the nice but weird Theo, or Connor. All to a villain who attacked his team during an exam

"Hey, hey, I've got you." Jared's sunk to the floor, and he's next to him, holding Evan tightly. He feels a few jolts of electricity surge through the hug, but it's not painful. It's light buzzes, almost like touching one of those weird plasma balls, and it's slightly comforting. Jared begins to do the next thing he knows best, and that's to talk, and it at least gives Evan something to listen to, something to ground himself upon. "Can you hear me? Can you breath with me a bit, Evan?"

"I-I-I-"

"What happened out there, boy?" Coach Strong asks, completely oblivious to the full on anxiety attack that Evan's having right now.

"Give him a minute, Coach." Jared replies, rubbing circles into Evan's back. He's holding Evan close, so that he can breath with him, and Evan's trying to match it, but his breaths are much quicker and more laboured. His chest is starting to hurt too, which probably isn't a good sign. 

"N-No, w-we need to g-get the o-others. T-They're h-hurt." Evan says, between his panicked breaths. "P-Please, j-just g-go and get t-them, I c-can explain, I can explain everything t-then."

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> is it bad i was listening to sincerely, me while writing this action-y chapter?  
> No?  
> okay...
> 
> lol i left everyone on a bit of a cliffhanger sorry (not sorry) but ta-da!!! the last chapter is it. the final chapter. of the first story. oh boy. how are you all feeling? i'm not feeling ready.
> 
> mostlybecauseIhavetowritethechapter **ANYWAY**
> 
> so idk if I mentioned this before but the reason Evan is spared amongst everyone else _is_ because of his anxiety. but also his anxiety medication. he's the only one in the team on meds for it, and since they change his brain chemistry a bit, it's not "solid" enough for the strings to latch onto. if that makes sense.
> 
> follow me on tumblr [@theotheghostkid]()


	15. The scary truth is I'm flyin' blind, I'm making this up as I go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> epilogue time.

He was told he was a hero.  _A hero._

"You saved your classmates. You saved yourself."

They didn't agree with how it happened. They didn't think it should have happened. How could a villain have gotten into Magnus High? The security measures are intense. There is no way, no one with a criminal record is allowed in without permission. But that wasn't what Evan was supposed to worry about; he was supposed to worry about going to the hospital, because he might have broken bones. Which is not good, not just because they're broken bones, but his mom can't afford a hospital bill, she can barely handle her night classes and her multiple jobs. Nonetheless, he's packed onto ambulances with his teammates and shipped off to the hospital, Jared in tow.

They're forced apart when they get there, but having Jared's hand to hold onto, to stay tethered to this reality, was nice. 

After a lot of tests and x-rays, he doctors pull him into a room-- room 609, he remembered it well because it was like 6/09, which was Jared's birthday. June 9th. The room only has his bed, and the doctors just want to talk. They're on the fence about keeping Evan in the hospital. His mom is there. 

"On the fence?" Heidi gasps, trying to steel her emotions, but at the same time, revealing them all at once. Evan gulps. He hates that idea. "What do you mean by that?"

"Observation." Dr. Heimlich says, the doctor who was assigned to Evan the moment he entered the hospital. He was a towering man, with two sets of arms, and one extra eye in his forehead. Honestly,  _whims_ sometimes... "We've found something...peculiar, on his x-rays." Dr. Heimlich pulled out the x-rays they'd taken of Evan, placing them on a light so that they could see, too.

It looked  _not normal._ His ribs had cracks in them, but there was a mysterious...thing wrapping around them, holding them in place so they wouldn't break.

"Our records show that Mr. Hansen has a plant-based whim, yes?" Heidi only nods as the doctor continues. "Well, we believe that these strange tendrils wrapping around Evan's fractured bones are... simply put, vines."

Vines? Evan was prone to coughing up flowers-- often, due to his anxiety-- and he grew that little buddy vine to twirl his fingers around when he was especially nervous or just bored, but inside of his body, wrapped around his ribs? Shouldn't that, like,  _kill_ him or something?  But this was the world of the whims, and nothing is normal in this world. He didn't even notice anything, except now that it was pointed out, it did hurt a little bit to breathe, but it feels just as if he's had the wind knocked out of him, and not  _vines_ around his bones. 

"It doesn't seem to be harming him." Dr. Heimlich says. "He doesn't even appear to notice them, and they don't show up except in the x-rays." The doctor takes down the x-rays, pushing them back into the folder he's been carrying the whole time. "We think that during the... eh, "attack", when he was injured, his body naturally did this as a form of protection from damage." 

"Wow." Is all Heidi can say. It's all Evan can say, too.

"Yes, it's a... medical marvel." Dr. Heimlich says. "We recommend that Evan stays overnight for observation, but... It's all up to the both of you, I suppose." And with that, he leaves the room.

Evan's staring at his hands, sitting on the bed. His entire body is numb, it feels a bit like he's having an out-of-body experience. His mother's voice brings him down from the high ( _is this what it feels like to be high? How does Connor stand this, it doesn't feel good??)_ as she asks, "Well, Ev. It's up to you." She squeezes his hand.

He just wanted to go home.

* * *

 

Connor is staying in the hospital for another couple of days. He was unconscious for too long for comfort; the doctors need to make sure everything is okay. Alana is only going to be there for another day, but she'd broken her arm somehow in the skirmish, and it's being treated slowly. No word on Theo, except for a random cat meme sent to the group chat. Which leaves Evan...

...Alone.

With his thoughts.

He shakes his head, trying to focus on his homework. No villain attack was going to stop homework, right? Plus, it was distracting for him. The homework, from the attack. Not the other way around. Though, by the looks of it, Evan's got through one math problem before he began to space out again.

His phone buzzes, and he dives for it immediately.

> **[CONNOR]:** holy shite ev i hate hospitals
> 
> **[YOU]:** Connor!!!
> 
> **[YOU]:** Oh, shit, sorry. That was probably too exciting. Um. How are you?
> 
> **[CONNOR]:** i feel like shit and i'm in a hospital. least my head's not killing me anymore
> 
> **[CONNOR]:** but ev what happened? i remember running in front of you and then... fuck
> 
> **[YOU]:** Well, um. A lot of things happened, I guess? You, Alana, and Theo were all being controlled by the villain who was Marionette or something and she was just really bad but I guess all villains are and she had you guys attack me don't worry I'm okay and I didn't want to hurt any of you and it turns out that I couldn't be controlled by her because of something wrong with my brain I think its the meds I take and some stuff happened and I had to avoid attacking you guys and I cut the strings that were controlling you guys and then the villain went for me but Theo got out of it first and he managed to knock out the villain. So I guess Theo is technically the real hero in the story because he took out the villain? But yeah that's what happened you and Alana were out of it and Theo really looked like he was dying and yeah.
> 
> **[YOU]:** Sorry that was such a long message!!
> 
> **[CONNOR]:** oh shit

There's a long silence in the messages. A long pause. Evan's worried for a minute. Did he accidentally make Connor feel bad about sacrificing himself for nothing? Did he accidentally make Connor feel worse about the whole situation? His mind was swimming with thoughts, so he tried to return to his math homework.

And lo and behold, another text.

> **[CONNOR]:** sorry doctor came in 
> 
> **[CONNOR]:** but evan holy shit are you okay
> 
> **[YOU]:** I'm fine!!
> 
> **[CONNOR]:** liaaar
> 
> **[YOU]:** How can you tell? It's through text.
> 
> **[YOU]:**...Oh.
> 
> **[CONNOR]:** i propose after i get out of this goddamned hospital that we go to the book store and justhide out for the rest of eternity
> 
> **[YOU]:** That sounds really good!! But make sure you're 100% better, okay??
> 
> **[YOU]:** Well, at least more than 90% would be best, at least. Sorry.
> 
> **[CONNOR]:** sure thing ev
> 
>  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *flips table* _ITS DONE_
> 
> hi sorry for not updating in fan-flipping-forever. and sorry for the short update.but this isn't the enddddd!! it's only the beginning! the next part will be out.
> 
> soon. idk when.
> 
> happy new year btw!! i hope 2018 is a great year for everyone!! let's do this guys!
> 
> follow me on tumblr [@theotheghostkid](http://theotheghostkid.co.vu/) for exciting reblogs and memes
> 
> i love you guys so much. thanks for a great 2017. 
> 
>  
> 
> okay it's 12 am i'm going to bed

**Author's Note:**

> important notes to know about this story, I guess!!
> 
> powers are called whims. kinda like how my hero academia calls them quirks? they're called whims here, because i love the word whim and it works. kinda. oh well this is my story haha.
> 
> evan has a plant/healing whim. it's a mixture of his mom and dad's powers (his paternal grandfather was a hero, Fern, known for controlling plants and stuff). his mom can heal, but it's weak, and evan has a bit of it, too. he can control almost all kinds of plants, but trees and stuff take a lot out of him. his powers are heavily affected by his emotions (a side effect of his anxiety meds).
> 
> jared's whim is an electricity whim. it mainly affects electronics, and he can control them, though if he really applies himself, he can manage to control pure electricity, too. 0/10 wouldn't recommend for jared bc that really takes a lot out of him. he's got good control on his powers, and uses them for pranks a lot. neither of his parents have whims, so it comes from a couple of generations back, supposedly. 
> 
> alana's whim is a mixture of her mom's telepathy and dad's telekinesis. it balances out at a 40/60 ratio. she can read minds, though it takes effort to dig into people's actual deep thoughts, only usually reads the passing thoughts in people, if possible. her telekinesis is a bit stronger, thus far she's been able to move an entire fridge with her mind. her limit is probably gonna be a couple of cars before she exerts herself too much.
> 
> zoe's whim is a strong sound whim. she can control different kinds of sounds, kinda like her father can, but just like her father, she can only control already existing sounds. it's handy for being in band, for sure, but freshmen aren't allowed to join the band at school yet. 
> 
> connor's whim is something neither parents expected, especially since neither parents have this power??? he's able to turn invisible and go through solid materials. he found out when he wanted to disappear one day as a little kid, and he ended up invisible for, like, half a week and freaking out. 
> 
> cynthia can teleport small objects across the room, and larry can control sound, though it's slightly weaker than what zoe can do. heidi can heal but it's much weaker than what evan can do. 
> 
> oh, and miss lynley has a persuasion whim. she can only do it on a baseline level, like, giving people suggestions, but it's super strong when she gets mad, too. 
> 
> most people have whims in this world!!! most are weak, though, but they can be trained to be stronger (like a muscle). about 25% of the world has no whim, but they don't mind. people are free to use whims in regulated areas and private areas (like at home) but it's banned in public areas with a fine of $400 for each offense. 
> 
> people can have two whims, ie evan and connor, but it's usually a mixture of their parents whims and they usually work well together. it's got to do with genetics, you can do a Punnett square with this stuff. 
> 
> hmu on tumblr if you have any questions [@theotheghostkid](theotheghostkid.tumblr.com)!!!


End file.
